Love Beyond Death, Part II
by zephyran
Summary: The Sorceress Quistis and her Guardian Force, Rinoa, are doing their best to live normal lives in Garden. However, a force from beyond this world has its sights on their power, and will tear their lives apart to take it.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and everything related are the property of Square Enix. This work is a fan fiction, and the author receives no material compensation for writing it.

Author's Note: This story is a continuation of my earlier story _Love Beyond Death_, also posted here on FanFiction(dot)net (I would post a link to it, but do not wish to violate the site's TOS). I HIGHLY recommend you read _Love Beyond Death_ before you begin this one; otherwise, this story and its situations (taking place years after the end of Final Fantasy VIII) will make little sense. Also, while my earlier story may be a few years old, feel free to Review it if you haven't already.

PROLOGUE

Alexa stared at the sunset, holding Tracker up off the floor of the balcony, to keep him from running around as little children often do. While Alexa was no more than a little child herself, at least physically, her mind was strong and developed enough for her to recognize that this was neither the time nor place for other little children to be running around unattended. Why the adults couldn't see this, she didn't know. They were too busy talking about stupid grown-up things like Uncle Nida and changing a course, whatever that meant. Still, she tried to make Tracker look at the sunset with them, despite his wordless infantile protests.

While the boy struggled to escape her, something tugged at the edge of her consciousness. The psychic pull was strong enough that it took her attention away from holding her grip on the boy. Tracker immediately broke free and ran away from her, mocking her clumsy grasp by sticking out his tongue and blowing her a wet raspberry.

She didn't care. She'd been standing on the balcony of Balamb Garden for several minutes with her parents, Tracker's parents, and their adult friends, and each of them had a distinctive presence that she could feel whenever they were near. As the daughter of what was once history's most powerful Sorceress, she had inherited a great many powers. Or so she'd been told. So far she'd just been able to feel people who were nearby, and to hear the occasional voices of long-dead Sorceresses whispering to her in her sleep. She had lived with both for so long that they felt like home to her. However, none of what she had felt, aside from the occasional nightmares of witches like Renault, Adel, and Ultimecia, had seemed particularly threatening.

The presence she now felt was not like any other she'd remembered, and at least vaguely more malicious. It was coming from behind them, from the door leading back into the corridors of Garden.

She turned around, but saw nothing but a closed door. She examined the whole platform, finding nothing of what she'd detected. As quickly as the feeling had appeared, it had vanished.

She'd had visions before, from what her parents had told her. She couldn't really remember them, but somehow this one felt vaguely familiar, as if it had visited her before. After a few seconds, she shrugged and turned back to the sunset with everyone else. If it were important, she'd worry about it later. She joined her parents Rinoa and Squall, and new brother Jarod, at the railing, losing herself in nature's beauty.

The presence, however, had not vanished. It had realized that it had been detected, and had hidden behind the powerful aura of that disgusting creature, that puppet reborn of the Sorceress' powers, Rinoa Leonhart. Alexa's mother, the presence knew. After all, it had been there for the child's conception, her birth, and her mother's death. Now, the mother's existence as…_what did they call it_…a "human Guardian Force", generated an aura so strong that the presence had no difficulty using it as a shield from the child's senses. It watched as everyone, and now even the Sorceress child, gazed into the setting sun as if it were somehow worthy of their attention.

The presence had not looked upon a sunset in decades, nor did it have any specific desire to do so in all that time. It regarded these people as fools for watching something as mundane as the setting sun, while allowing to sit idle the abundant powers within them.

The Sorceress Quistis Almasy and her unholy progeny. That _monstrosity_ and its filthy whelp. The thought of them and how they had wasted the Sorceress powers within them would turn the presence's stomach, if it had any of its anatomy remaining.

They had slipped from its grasp on several occasions, but the groundwork was being laid. Sooner or later, their pathetic human compassion would tilt the scales against them and would lead them to lose those precious powers.

When that happened, they would die neither quickly, nor painlessly. The powers they had stolen would be returned to their rightful owner, and all would despair.

The Era of the Sorceress was coming.


	2. Chapter 1: Family Matters

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Square Enix, etc. etc. etc. (You know the drill). Also, one last warning: If you haven't read "Love Beyond Death", I highly recommend you do before you go on with this story.

Chapter 1: Family Matters

"Behind you!"

Quistis Almasy spun around, immediately lashing out with her whip. While the move may have appeared to the uninitiated to be a wild reflexive strike, it was both surgically precise and deadly. Her whip struck its two marks with an accuracy prized by any sniper, and the monster roared as it collapsed onto the stumps of its front legs. A second strike, almost too quick to be seen, ended the monster's bellowing by severing its bulbous-eyed head.

"Thanks," she shouted, before going after another Grand Mantis. "Keep an eye on yourself, too!" Without hesitation, Rinoa Leonhart leapt into the air just as a Behemoth swiped its claw across the space where her head had just been. While airborne, she performed a somersault and fired her Pinwheel at the Behemoth, slicing off part of its head. Its brains slipped out of its opened skull onto the ground as Rinoa flipped again, landing on an overhead tree limb.

"Gross!" she shouted as she observed the bloody mess on the Training Area floor. "I hope they don't make us clean up in here!" She grimaced at her stained Pinwheel blade as it automatically retracted into her wrist launcher.

"They won't, if they know what's good for them!" Quistis said as finished the second Grand Mantis.

Without missing a beat, she cast a Fire spell on a stray Grat that had wandered near. As the Grat curled up into itself and began crackling in the flames, her wrist chronometer beeped. "Hey, time to start heading back!"

Rinoa leapt from the tree and floated down to the ground, as if carried the nonexistent wind. She soft-landed on the straw-covered metal floor. Quistis tilted her head. "You like showing off, don't you?"

Rinoa shrugged, and then leapt up into another tree. She bounced off that one onto an air handling unit a hundred feet overhead, and then floated back down toward the ground. This time she held her hands in the air and landed on her tiptoes, like a ballerina. It was something she hadn't remembered doing since her dancing lessons as a young child. "It's liberating. You should try it sometime."

"Try what? Hopping around like a little goblin?"

Rinoa giggled. "If you want. All that time I was hiding my powers, it would have helped things if I'd just cut loose once in a while."

Quistis's smile faded a little. "I doubt that's what Hyne had in mind when she passed the powers on to us. Humanity, I mean." Then, with lightning speed, she shot to her right, thrust her hand out, and fired a ball of golden energy from her palm. Rinoa dodged and spun around to see a T-Rexaur take the full brunt of the blast and collapse heavily to the floor. The beast's crash made the entire room reverberate.

"You have to pay attention," Quistis said. "You're powerful, but I don't think that even _you_ are indestructible."

Rinoa smiled. "Coming from the person who actually made my body, that makes me a little nervous."

Quistis crossed her arms and smiled slyly. "Liar. I haven't seen you nervous in years."

Rinoa shrugged. "Guess you can cut loose when you really want to." She sighed. "They're a burden, I know. All that power but nobody to tell you when, how, or why to use it."

Quistis now put her hands to her hips. "Did this suddenly become a psychoanalysis? Are we '_Doctor_ Leonhart' now?" Her tiny smile was echoed by a glint in her bespectacled eyes.

"Sorry," Rinoa said. With a speed surpassing even that which Quistis had displayed, Rinoa flung herself into the shadows, dispatched a Wendigo that had been stalking them, and then returned to her former standing positon. She brushed her long raven-colored hair out of her face with one hand. "That's not what I meant. It's just sometimes…well, I feel guilty placing that burden on you."

Quistis waved off her comment and shook her head. "I'd really rather not think about what happened back then. It's done, we're here, and that's all that matters to me."

"Fair enough."

"You don't worry anymore that someone will see you using your powers?"

"Quisty," Rinoa said, lifting off the ground as if on invisible strings, "is there anybody in Garden who doesn't know that you're a Sorceress, or that I'm…well…_different_?"

"They're not _supposed_ to know. Even if they do, that doesn't mean we need to advertise it," Quistis said.

Rinoa tilted her head. "Everyone's favorite Instructor coming back to life after being dead for months…I think word got around."

Quistis shrugged. "I wasn't aware that I'd died. I'll have to look into that."

Rinoa scrunched her nose at Quistis's dry humor. "Besides, it's not like you'd be flaunting them. Just…letting them out for some fresh air."

Quistis smiled an indulgent smile, with only the barest hint of rue. "Maybe next time." She checked her wrist chrono again. "We've got to go soon if we want to meet them when they get here."

"Well, I guess you outrank me, so I don't have much choice." She brushed the sleeves of her lavender jacket and, now firmly grounded, walked toward her best friend. "I wonder if the kids had fun in town."

"Yeah," Quistis said, wrapping her whip up at her belt. "And the four young ones too." They both laughed. "It's been some time since they've been able to get out of Garden for a whole day." Quistis cast a Repel spell as they headed toward the door, reversing the earlier Pheromone spell she'd cast to attract the Training Area's deadliest monsters to them. A Chimera that had been eyeing them snorted from all four heads and skulked away toward the rear chamber, in search of more palatable prey.

As the women reached the clean metal hallway leading back into Garden proper, they caught sight of a teen student walking in with two younger children. When he saw Quistis and Rinoa, he froze in place. Quistis and Rinoa, on the other hand, both immediately ran over to him.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Mister…" Rinoa snapped a look down at the nametag on his uniform, "Weiis?"

The teen tried to stammer a response, but none came. Instead, one of the children said, "Hi, Instructor Leonhart!"

"Hi there," Rinoa replied, casting a softer gaze onto the children and dropping the tension from her voice. "What are you doing here? You know you're not supposed to be in the Training Area."

"Raysh was going to show us how his gunblade works, Mrs. Leonhart!" replied the other child.

"Is that a fact?" asked Quistis, whose eyes were burning into the teen's skull. Although she literally had the ability to do just that, it was fortunate for the teen that she chose to remain figurative.

"I…I was going to have them hide…I was just going to take on a Grat…" the teen managed before Quistis silenced him with a raised hand.

"Instructor Leonhart," Quistis said, "would you please escort Mister Weiis's guests out of here while I have a word with him?"

Rinoa nodded. "Come on, guys. Are you hungry? Let's go see if there are any hot dogs left in the cafeteria." She took their hands and led them back out the doorway. As the children chattered excitedly to Rinoa about the monsters Raysh had promised to show them, she shot Quistis a mental message: _Give him hell._

Quistis needed no encouragement. She stepped up to the teen until the tip of her nose was millimeters from his. "Get to attention, student." The student immediately snapped to attention, dropping his gunblade onto the floor. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing bringing two children in here? Did you miss the part of the regulations that says children under ten are forbidden under _any_ circumstances?"

"N-no, ma'am," the teen replied. "I wasn't going to let them get hurt…"

"You weren't going to let them get hurt," she repeated, as if rolling it over in her head. "What if you were attacked by a T-rexaur? Suppose you got knocked out and it came after them? Do you have any idea what a T-rexaur's jaws and teeth would do to a child's body?"

"I…I…" the teen stammered.

"Who's your homeroom Instructor?"

"I-Instructor Akira."

"Good," Quistis said. "Get your ass to your dormitory. Do _not_ stop anywhere else, and do not talk to _anyone_. Professor Akira will likely be speaking to you very soon, and if I were you, I'd be ready for some nice hard labor for the next few days. _If_ you're lucky. _Dismissed_."

"Y-yes, ma'am," the teen replied and immediately ran off. Quistis put her fists to her hip, shook her head, and sighed.

As she walked toward the comm panel, she almost started feeling sorry for the kid. As tough as Quistis was, Senior Instructor Akira, who was originally a Drill Instructor in Galbadia Garden, made her a softie by comparison. Still, it would be better for the student to learn through punishment than for him to be killed, or even worse, to kill others under his charge.

She reached the comm panel and entered her staff ID and passcode. Four rising tones sounded throughout Garden's PA system, and Quistis leaned in close to the panel.

"Instructor Akira, please call station 126. Instructor Akira, station 126."

VVVVVVVVVVVV

"How come we hafta go back ar-ready?"

Seifer looked away from the road to acknowledge his son. At five years with a thick mop of blonde hair, Tracker was a ball of energy that hadn't quite outgrown the "terrible threes". Seifer sighed. He'd already explained this twice, and as much as he loved his son, sometimes the boy grated on his nerves. "Because I said so, that's why."

"But Untel Skall din't say so. In't he yer boss?"

Seifer raised an eyebrow and turned his head further back. Squall was in the seat behind Tracker, reading over the shoulder of his adopted son, Jarod, whose face was buried in a book. Squall looked up at Seifer and shrugged, the slightest of smiles tugging at his mouth.

"And did 'Untel Skall' tell you that?" Seifer asked, now barely hiding his irritation.

"Don't look at me," Squall replied. "And unless you want to drive through that Caterchipillar, you'd better look at the _road_."

Seifer snapped his head forward, just in time to notice that the car was drifting into the shoulder. He jerked the wheel to the left, putting the car back into their proper lane and jostling everyone inside.

"Hey, you messed up my game!" Alexa snapped from behind Squall. The nine-year-old girl, Squall and Rinoa's only biological child, acted much more like a teen than her appearance would suggest. Part of the reason for that, Squall and Rinoa knew, was the Sorceress powers she'd inherited from her mother in vitro; she was the first child ever known to be born of a Sorceress. And, like a teenager, she was prone to emotional overreaction. In a demonstration of this, she slapped her handheld game down onto the leather seat of the Garden car, and then crossed her arms and grimaced.

"I wanna play the game!" Another young child reached for the game from her booster seat. "Please and thank you?"

"No, Jessa!" Alexa snatched it away from her.

"But I know how!" Jessa replied, defiantly reaching for the device. Her long blonde hair was drawn into pigtails that flipped in every direction when she moved her head. Although she was only four years of age, Jessa had developed very quickly, as Alexa had. Jessa, her parents had determined, had likewise inherited some Sorceress powers from her mother, Quistis.

"Your fingers are too small!" Alexa replied, trying to shove the game into her pocket.

"Lexie," Squall said, "let her play with it for a while if you're not going to."

Alexa turned to her father, her eyes wide open in melodramatic shock. "But Dad…!"

Squall brought his hand up in front of his face and extended his index finger, as if pointing to the ceiling of the car. Exhaling with all the strength and sound she could muster, Alexa pulled the game out of her pocket and practically threw it at Jessa. Squall caught it with a quick reach into the back seat, and then gently handed the device to Jessa.

"Yay!" Jessa said, eagerly accepting the game. "Thanks, Uncle Squall!"

"'Thanks, Uncle Squall,'" Alexa muttered under her breath as she dug her hand into one of the shopping bags.

Squall shook his head and leaned close to Alexa, sliding out of his seat to reach her in the back seat. She pulled away slightly, but Squall put a hand on her arm. He whispered, "You're grounded. You do _not_ throw things. I don't care how mad you are." He pulled away a little, and Alexa turned another hurt expression toward him. He shot it down with his own stern visage, and Alexa shrank away, electing to sulk instead of getting herself into further trouble. With a quiet sigh, Squall returned to his seat and saw a pair of eyes in the rearview mirror looking at him for a split second, before turning back to the road. While Squall had only caught a glimpse of the eyes, he knew Seifer watched him not out of irritation, but out of sympathy. As much as they had been rivals in their youth, nothing had brought Squall and Seifer closer than the trials and tribulations of being fathers.

"No catcher-pitcher off the road," Tracker said as he rummaged through his own toy bag. He pulled out a toy airship and, as he whizzed it around in the air, continued, "A T-reckser in the woods, and…" he turned around to face his sister, who was busy playing with Alexa's game in her booster seat. He raised his hands as if they were claws and said, "_Bite Bugs_!"

Jessa shrieked, dropping the game, which Squall again caught (this time almost disjointing his arm). "No! I hate bugs!"

"Tracker, don't scare your sister," Seifer scolded. He exhaled rather loudly through his nose. Tracker was another handful all on his own. While he did not seem to have inherited any powers, his senses were far more heightened than most people's. He could see clearly for miles, as well as pick up the sound of a pin dropping in a loud room without being deafened by the ambient noise. Seifer was at least thankful that, hopefully, Tracker would be able to lead a somewhat normal life, even if his sister could not.

It seemed part of that normal life was that, as a five-year-old, Tracker thought he was the most hilarious being in the world. He continued torturing his sister, shouting, "Bite Bugs! Bite Bugs! Bugs 'at _bite_ ya!" while his sister screeched back at him in protest. Though neither he nor Squall had the powers or heightened senses of their birth children, he was sure he shared Squall's thoughts at this moment.

_Why does this trip get longer every time we take it?_

VVVVVVVVVVVV

"Well, there you are! What took you so long?" said Rinoa as she and Quistis walked toward the just-parked car.

"How was your trip?" said Quistis.

"Terrible," Alexa said as she squirmed out of the car around Squall's seat. She stomped past Rinoa toward Garden's main rotunda without as much as a glance. Rinoa turned from her daughter to Squall, who was helping unstrap Jessa from her booster seat.

He shrugged as Jessa came free of the seatbelt and practically flew out of the car. "I made her share." Then, he added through their telepathic link, _And I grounded her for throwing her game at Jessa._

Rinoa squinted at him. "You monster."

"I hear they have a special prison in Centra for my kind," Squall quipped as he collected Alexa's game, long forgotten by Jessa, from the car's rear seat. "Maybe it'll be a nice little vacation. Nice and quiet."

"She not mad, is she?" Jessa asked from the safety of her mother's arms. "I don't want Lexie to be mad at me."

"She's not mad at you," Squall replied with a seldom-seen wink, as he pulled himself out of the car. Then, to Rinoa, he said, "And Jarod's had his nose buried in this book ever since we got it off the shelf at the bookstore."

"Ooh, what is it?" Rinoa asked, walking over to the thirteen-year-old boy who had absently climbed out of the car.

"_Flora and Fauna of the World_," Jarod replied. Then, looking up into Rinoa's eyes, "Did you know that there are 100 types of _grass_ in the world?"

As Rinoa, Squall, and Jarod discussed those various types of grass, Quistis held tightly onto Jessa with one hand, while rubbing the head of Tracker, who had attached himself to her leg.

"How was Balamb?" she asked.

"Daddy made us leave early," Tracker said, in his whiniest "I'm telling on you" voice.

"Well, when Daddy says it's time to go, it's time to go," Quistis replied. Tracker frowned, obviously unhappy with that answer.

"Look what I got!" Jenna said quickly, sticking her new toy in Quistis' face.

As Quistis marveled at the new baubles her children had obtained on their trip, and considered how they would lay broken and forgotten on the floor of their bedrooms by the next morning, Seifer walked up holding three bags full of various things from the list Quistis had given him. "Mommy got a lot of new toys too," Seifer said with a smirk.

Quistis raised her eyebrows as she stood. "_My_ toys teach students how to refine their own magic."

Seifer set the bags on the ground and pulled a pair of elegant, and somewhat expensive, high heels from one of them. "I wonder what level of Fire spell you can learn from these."

Quistis gave Seifer a sly smile. Then, Rinoa said, "Hey, aren't those the ones _I_ ordered?"

"Maybe," said Squall, pulling a few more bags from the back of the car. "We'll sort out your magic shoes later."

Scrunching her nose and faking a sneer, Rinoa snatched one of the bags from Squall. "Men. _We_ stay here doing all the work, and _they_ get to go have fun all day."

"I think we need to discuss your idea of 'fun', Instructor," Seifer said.

"Somehow we still put up with them," Quistis continued, planting a kiss on Seifer's rough cheek while ignoring his comment.

As they all headed toward the elevator in the Garden rotunda, Rinoa asked Squall telepathically, _So what's wrong with Lexie? Why was she throwing things at Jessa?_

_She's a fifteen-year-old trapped in a nine-year-old body,_ Squall said. _She's frustrated, and taking it out on everyone and everything she can. She's probably up there moping, or plotting some way to get out of being grounded._

Rinoa sighed inwardly. _Sometimes I just don't know what to do. I don't know if anyone's ever had to go through what she's going through. She really is a teenager stuck in a child's body, and that's got to be frustrating._

_Yeah_, Squall said. _Either way, though, she still has to learn a bit of maturity. She's got a powerful mind, and I think it's scary to her sometimes. Sometimes it is to me. Some of the things she's learning in her advanced classes are well beyond what I've ever learned. But I don't want her completely in the upper classes yet. I don't want her having a weapon until she can physically handle it. I think that's a big part of it, because I told her 'no weapon'._

_That's all easy for us to say_, Rinoa replied, _but do you remember how frustrated you were as a child, how desperately you wanted to grow up? I do. Multiply that by ten times, and we might have an idea about how she feels._

They all entered the elevator silently. Other Garden residents who had been waiting on the lift let them have the car to themselves, and they accepted without protest. Despite how popular others at Garden had told them they were, many seemed to give the four of them more than their share of space. After about a year of this treatment, they had all just learned to accept it as nothing more or less than respect.

Not that any of them had particularly noticed their "solitude". Jarod was engrossed in his book, Tracker and Jessa were busy playing with some of their new toys, and both adult couples were engaged in their normal, private, two-way telepathic conversations. In the years since Quistis had mastered her Sorceress powers, she and Seifer had managed to form a similar bond to Rinoa and Squall's. It was not identical, as no bond between any two people is identical to any other, but it was as special to them as the Leonharts' was.

_Cid reduced my class load_, Quistis said. _I'll be spending more time in the library now on my research, and probably a lot of time online with Odine._

Seifer nodded. _Good. There's gotta be at least one Sorceress from history that didn't try to take over the world and still got put in the history books. If we can show the world that being a Sorceress doesn't automatically make you dangerous, maybe you won't have to hide anymore. It's hard enough to keep the students and their parents from finding out._

Quistis squeezed his hand. _I know. It'll be nice not to have to hide anymore, though I don't know if I'm as optimistic about it. Some people never get past their prejudices._

Seifer nodded. To this day he'd been avoided by many students, SeeDs, and Instructors, and he knew it wasn't just his reputation as a hard-nosed team captain.

_Anyway, about my research_, Quistis said, changing the subject. _Cid said he'd try to work out a trip for me to Esthar to work directly with Odine, one-on-one. Get a chance to pick his brain in exchange for cooperating with some experiments. If he'll let me, or,_ she gave a wry smile, _if he can't stop me, I might be able to go through everything he's compiled since Adel._

Seifer turned to her, eyebrow raised. _Alone with Odine? I really don't think that's a good idea, especially if "experiments" are involved._

Quistis shook her head. _I didn't mean literally "alone". Hopefully not, anyway. He's got some assistants, and I'm sure the President will have someone watching to make sure he doesn't do anything…embarrassing._

Seifer frowned. _I'd rather be there with you. I don't trust that guy after the things he's done. After what he did…to Rinoa…_ He shuddered as his own memories of that time returned to the forefront of his consciousness.

Quistis caressed Seifer's cheek, and he closed his eyes. _I'd want you there too,_ she said, _but you'd have to promise not to intimidate him. He's very high-strung and stuck on himself. The kids could come, maybe, and see Esthar. They'd like that. We'd have to work it out with your work schedule._

_I'm sure Squall'll give me leave for that. Hell, he's been trying to get me to take time off for weeks, but my team just isn't ready to go without me. But, I'd do it for you either way. _

_Why thank you, Major Almasy. I'm honored._

_Besides,_ he started, _and then stopped._

_What?_ Quistis asked, her jocular tone gone.

Seifer sighed. _Nothing. I just think it'd be good for us to get away. As a family._

_As a family,_ Quistis repeated. _You mean, "without Squall and Rinoa", don't you?_

_They're our friends, and I know they'd do anything for us, but I think…we just need space from them. It's not like it was before, where it was like they were hanging on us all the time, but we just need time away. You, me, and the kids. Without Squall, Rinoa, or their kids around._

Quistis smiled, but her eyes almost appeared to mourn. _I promise it'll just be us._

Seifer nodded. _Good._ Then, he switched gears almost completely. _I heard a rumor that something big's going to be happening in Esthar soon. Something about Lunatic Pandora, or the Sorceress Memorial, or something._

Quistis crossed her arms. _I've heard that too. If that's the case, I think Cid would want us all there for whatever it is. _She stroked his cheek again._ Even if we all do go, though, I promise we'll take some time away from everyone else. They owe us that._

_Thanks,_ was Seifer's only reply. He then let his side of the link go quiet, although Quistis could feel old wounds reopening in her husband's heart. While she knew him well enough to know that he was a new man since the days he served Ultimecia, she still hated dwelling on that past. He had been through enough pain without needing to be reminded of his mistakes over and over again, reliving his old pains. Those pains were especially hard on her not just because she was his wife, but because deep down within her were echoes of the evil person who had done it all to him.

There were times, many of them, when she hated being a Sorceress.


	3. Chapter 2: Full Circle

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters, locations, etc. are the property of Square Enix. This is a work of fan fiction, not for profit or compensation, etc.

Chapter 2: Full Circle

Squall rubbed his eyes. He really hated this part of the job. His desk was stacked high with papers, some internal SeeD business, but most of it job requests and reports from SeeD's clients. The rest were requisitions for Garden's most important and sensitive equipment, such as special weapons and the new Junction Emulators. Garden had a logistics officer for most supplies and equipment, but Emulators in particular were critical to SeeD and tightly controlled within the Garden network. Hence, only Garden's top officers could handle the paperwork for them, and Squall had taken the task upon himself.

Mainly due to Squall's pressuring, Guardian Forces were no longer permitted for use by Garden students, staff, or SeeDs. Due to the destructive nature they have on the user's mind, even junctioning a GF once in a lifetime causes chronic long-term memory loss. All SeeDs and students who had ever junctioned a GF were given counseling on ways to retain their memories for as long as possible, or to regain them after they were "lost". As a matter of fact, the only of Squall's peers that didn't need the counseling were Rinoa and Quistis. Rinoa was exempt because she had died, and after her return, it was apparent that she had regained any memories lost over her few years of GF use. She had discovered firsthand the accuracy in the old saying, "All truths are laid bare at the moment of death."

Quistis, on the other hand, had begun to regain hers when she started learning to use and control her powers. In the years hence, he suspected that she had regained almost all of them; at certain times, he saw her gazing at something or someone (even him) with a wistful smile, giggling to herself. Squall envied them both. Without the mind exercises Doctor Kadowaki had given him, he was afraid he'd forget someone important from his past, like he had once done with his "Sis", Ellone.

SeeD had certainly lived up to its purpose, saving the world from the evil Sorceress Ultimecia. Now, over ten years later, their services were in such demand that their backlog was beginning to read like a book of "Who's Who in Small Government". In a departure from NORG's old method of operation, jobs were on a first-come, first-serve basis, except in cases of dire emergency and/or extremely time-sensitive work. Cid was far more flexible in the "premium pay for premium service" mantra that NORG had once imposed, and there were no longer any "Garden Faculty" loyal to NORG that could try to enforce it behind his back.

Despite Cid's less profit-oriented thinking, the influx of capital had allowed them to build the new Esthar Garden, as well as to vastly improve the three older Gardens in Trabia, Galbadia, and Balamb. It had also helped fund Doctor Odine's laboratory in Esthar, where he developed new magical devices specifically for SeeD. One in particular, the Junction Emulators, gave almost all the same benefits as Guardian Forces, including the ability to use and bolster one's abilities with naturally-occurring magic, but without the long-term memory loss associated with GFs. Guardian Forces had their own strengths, weaknesses, and even _minds_, and their users could sometimes even speak directly with them (assuming the GF liked them enough to hold up a conversation). The Emulators, on the other hand, were far more customizable, but were as cold and impersonal as a standard-issue wristwatch.

Because of this new technology, and because even the new Esthar Garden had refused to have its students use Guardian Forces, Squall was finally able to convince Cid to phase out the use of Guardian Forces at Balamb. After some more convincing of Cid and the other Headmasters, students of all Gardens were permitted the use of the Emulators, so they all would be able to train with magic from a young age. While those who had used GFs faced a life of increasing memory loss, Squall was preparing for future generations of SeeDs without that handicap.

However, that meant more paperwork, since they could no longer simply rely on finding their own GFs in nature. Purchase orders, bills of sale, customization requests…Squall was glad their independent status meant he didn't have to worry about customs or tax forms on top of everything else. Despite that minor comfort, it was the kind of paperwork Squall loved as much as a stab wound to the stomach. Today's paperwork was deep enough to make him cross-eyed.

He put the papers down, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and took another sip of his cooling coffee. He grunted. _Either someone switched me to decaf, or this just isn't doing the trick anymore._

"_Squall, do you have a minute?"_

Squall shook his head, being drawn out of his slight trance by the speakerphone. He pressed the blinking button on his desk. "Yes, Headmaster?"

"_Would you come in here please?"_

"Yes sir." He released the button and cast a glance over the papers still littering his desk. "Gladly," he muttered.

He exited his small office into the lower level of Garden's bridge. Because they were currently docked at their "home base" near Balamb, the bridge was on standby and unoccupied. On this particular day, the room was lit with a sort of mood lighting; normally at this time of day it would be filled with sunlight, but a line of passing thunderstorms had darkened the outside sky for miles. Rain pounded the massive windows at the bridge's fore, and the occasional lightning strike washed the room in strobelike shadows. The rattling of the rain and the rumbling of the thunder were dampened by Garden's insulated outer skin, but he could still feel the floor vibrate under his feet every few minutes.

He'd been so preoccupied with his paperwork he hadn't even noticed the storm until this moment. Walking past the bridge's elevator pad, he knocked on the Headmaster's office door, located just under and to the right of the bridge pedestal.

"Come on in, Squall."

The door slid open and Squall stepped inside. As the door automatically closed behind him, he heard Cid say, "Wild storm out there, isn't it?"

Squall shrugged as he walked over and sat in the chair before Cid's desk. "Hadn't really noticed."

Cid chuckled, pushed aside his own stack of partially-completed paperwork, and leaned forward. "I have some good news. President Loire has decided to dismantle Lunatic Pandora once and for all."

"I've heard," Squall said, folding his hands. His voice was even and devoid of inflection.

"He told you?"

Squall shook his head. "We…haven't talked in a while. Nothing's wrong," he added, seeing the look of concern on Cid's face. "We just haven't had time to connect. One of us is always busy." He shrugged. "I've…heard through the grapevine that this was coming."

Cid grinned. "If only we could channel our rumor mill into an organized intelligence agency, we could afford to plate Garden in adamantium."

Squall arched his eyebrows. "We have a lot of smart people that know how to read the signs."

"Exactly." Cid shuffled through his stack of paperwork and, finally finding what he wanted, slid a particular sheet across the desk to Squall. It was heavy-bound linen paper with a shimmering blue and white shield as its letterhead. Esthar's official national seal. "It has been requested that SeeD send a delegation to the ceremony that will see the first step of Lunatic Pandora's dismantling. And while they understand conflicting schedules, they would…how did they put it…'very much approve?'… if SeeDs original heroic team, and their families, would be part of that delegation."

Squall scanned the letter, trying to force his tired eyes to focus, and couldn't help but chuckle. "If my…President Loire didn't have a whole crew of writers doing this for him, it'd say, 'Hey, c'mon on down to Esthar! We're gonna trash this thing! It'll be fun!'"

Cid laughed out loud. "You know, I can picture him saying exactly that, in that exact voice. In fact, keep growing your hair out and you'll probably look exactly like him too!"

Squall shrugged. His nearly shoulder-length hair had actually proven to be more manageable than his earlier, shorter cut, because he could tuck it behind his ears and out of his face. Cid wasn't the first to tell him this, though – with his long hair and blue jacket with the short sleeves, Rinoa, Zell, and particularly Selphie had pointed out that he could be mistaken for a young Laguna Loire. "I wonder if this is going to end up being part of the big retirement party Kiros and Ward are planning for him."

"Maybe," Cid said. "There will be a lot of people happy to see that device put to rest for good, and it may well put them in a partying mood. I'd have thought they'd at least wait until after the election."

"Kiros and Ward always did have more sense than he did," Squall said with a wry smile. "It's probably the last time they can rope him into something official before he starts traveling again."

Cid nodded. "Well, anyway, I'm freeing up your calendar, and everyone else's on the original team, so you can all be there for the ceremony, and maybe a little time afterward. A week or three. Tour the city, inspect the new Garden, just get a change of scenery for a little while."

"A week or…_three_? I've got way too much paperwork…"

"Let Seran do it," Cid interjected. "She wasn't assigned the Second Commander position just to do all the 'fun stuff', you know. Delegate the boring stuff, make her see that command isn't all about giving commands. You…_do_ want to go, don't you?"

"Yes, of course, but…"

"Then you're going." He slapped his palms on his desk for effect. "Garden will still be here when you get back, just like every other time you've had to go away. Seran's got Nida to back her up anyway, and he can handle the troops if she gets writer's cramp."

That elicited a small laugh from Squall. "Well, Nida, guess you're finally getting your chance to run this place."

"Hmm?"

"Something I heard him say once, when he didn't know I was listening. He'll enjoy it." He tilted his head slightly. _Guess my memory isn't as bad as I thought_. He scanned the document before him. "September 18th, 11 hundred hours. Accomodations the night before and the following mo…_month_?"

Cid grinned in that long-chinned, roguish way he sometimes did. Squall ran a hand through his hair and continued, "…the following _month_ in the Presidential Residence, meals provided as desired by the guests." He looked up from the paper. "Good food there, but that place always felt too big and fancy to me."

"I'm sure it'll feel more at home with your family and friends all there," Cid said. "Go ahead and contact everyone from your old team. Headmasters Xu and Martine have received the same request, but we all decided to let you notify everyone. Privilege of being Headmaster." He winked. "Plus, I'm sure you'd all like to plan some time to get together."

Squall nodded. "It's been a while. I just hope the opening act with Lunatic Pandora doesn't scare anyone away."

VVVVVVVVVV

To Squall's surprise, Rinoa smiled. "Sounds really nice. We'll all be back together again, and we'll get to see that thing put where it belongs. On the junk heap."

"I hope everyone else'll feel the same way," Squall said. "Doubt there's any happy memories about that thing." He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought he felt some hesitation from her. He guessed that was why she'd chosen to talk verbally, instead of telepathically, even with Jarod in the next room. It would be easier for her to hide her real feelings this way.

Rinoa gave a sly smile. "It'll be nice, too, to watch Odine squirm when they wreck his old toy." She laughed.

"One of life's little bonuses." Squall crossed his arms.

"So we leave next week? I'm sure Kendall can handle my classes for the…he really said a month?"

"A month, his exact word."

Rinoa leaned her head back and gazed into space. "It'll be nice to get away for a while. Like we used to."

Squall nodded. "But this time it won't be a mission." He sighed. "You know, sometimes I think back to how things were just 10 years ago. We'd shuttle all around the world, cleaning up the postwar skirmishes here and there…"

"I surprised the hell out of everyone by joining SeeD," Rinoa interrupted. "Everyone started their own families. Well, except Zell."

"The bachelor life," Squall said, giving a small smirk. "Lucky bas…"

"If you finish that sentence, First Commander Leonhart," Rinoa cut in, her voice oozing with false sweetness, "you will learn just how much rage can be unleashed from this former Sorceress." She smiled, with the barest hint of doom in her eyes.

"What I meant to say was, 'How horrible. We should find him a wife so he can be as happy and content as I, the ever devoted and loving husband.'"

Rinoa nodded. "I've trained you well."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"Careful, I could get used to that," Rinoa said. "Behind every great leader is an even greater woman."

Squall smiled, and tried to drop the subject. "Do you want to tell Quisty and Seifer, or should I?"

"I'll tell Quisty," Rinoa said. "She'll be easy to find; she's either in the library studying, or in her quarters. Studying." She chuckled, though Squall didn't quite get the joke, if there was one. "You should tell Seifer. You're his counterpart, after all."

Squall cocked his head. "Counterpart?"

"Yeah, you know. You're the yin, he's the yang. Oh come on, Squall, don't tell me you never saw it. We all did!"

"Saw what?"

"You're like mirror images. He's blonde, you're brunette. He's big and muscular and you're, well, not as thin as you used to be," she stroked Squall's muscular chest under his jacket, "but still thinner than he is. You're reserved, he's outgoing. You're by-the-book, he's a maverick. You both use gunblades; his is one-handed and light, while yours is two-handed and heavy. Heck, Squall, you have the same scar on your faces, just reversed."

Squall opened his mouth, and then closed it. _Counterparts?_ _I never thought of it that way. I always thought Seifer was like a rival, and then a fellow warrior who had seen Hell and come back to tell about it. That was all, right?_

"Uh oh, now I've done it. The gears are clicking in Commander Leonhart's head. He's starting to do that frown of his again. I'd better leave you alone to stew on that for a while."

Squall shook his head. "Nobody's ever brought that up. I just never thought of it. At least I don't think I have."

"Well, relax, Commander, it's probably all just a product of you two being around each other all your lives. Who understands you better than your lifelong rival? Well, except for _me_, anyway." She winked.

Squall cocked his head and stood. "Well, then I guess I'd better go inform my _counterpart_ that he's taking a vacation."

Rinoa smiled and blew him a kiss. As he stepped out the door, Squall turned back to her, gave her his own wink, and disappeared into the corridor. As the door closed behind him, he thought, _Counterparts? Us? No, just coincidence._

Rinoa giggled. _Squall, sometimes it's just too easy to get you._ Then, her smile faded as she gazed over at Jarod in the living room, doing what she hoped was homework on his computer. Her eyes followed to the closet by the front door, inside which was the lockbox containing Alexa's confiscated whip. Alexa was out seeing friends, probably in the Quad or the Cafeteria, but wherever her daughter was in Garden, she could always feel her presence. It was comforting to know the girl was safe, no matter where she was. Would she be as safe in Esthar the next week, though, even if Rinoa stayed close to her?

_Lunatic Pandora. Could I even think of taking Lexie and Jarod there? There's so much wrong with that place, especially for a Sorceress. Even if they're demolishing it…how would being so close to it affect Lexie? Or me? Quisty? Jessa?_ She sighed. _I guess if Laguna thinks it's safe enough to invite us all, it must not be too bad. Just hope Odine isn't hiding anything._

VVVVVVVVVV

"Dammit, Jabil, what the hell was that?"

"Had to sneeze, sir. Couldn't help it." The young SeeD turned to Seifer, with not an apologetic look, but one of matter-of-fact defiance.

"Great, great," Seifer said. "You sneezed, and a guard heard you." He pointed his index finger at the young man. "Bang, you're dead. And I have a partner with me, who sees the rest of your team in the gunflash, so bang, bang, bang, you're all dead. But you got to sneeze, so you feel better." He threw up his hands and stormed toward his second in command, who was busy taking notes. "Why do I bother, Rek? These guys passed a SeeD exam, and now they all think they're Dollet Troupers."

"I dunno, Major, but I'm startin' to feel the need to pass on a major ass-whoopin'." Rek scribbled furiously onto the clipboard, and then stared directly at Jabil.

"Guess we'll have to start with that."

"But…but…sir," protested Jabil, "why do we need to learn to pick a lock by hand? Don't we have the ELMs for that?"

Seifer marched over until he was towering over the young man. The young man, now staring up at the 6-foot-2-inch SeeD Major, began to lose some of his nerve almost immediately. "We also have EMP grenades. In case you forgot from Basic Electronics, an EMP will knock out any electronics, including those you have on you. That includes what? Here's a hint: Electronic Latch Manipulators!"

"But…but…"

"You better keep those buts in your mouth and listen to him. He's in charge of you for a reason, and it's not because he's taller than you."

Seifer turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at the new arrival. "Thank you, _sir_, but I have this dog on a tight enough leash."

Squall nodded. "I don't doubt it. Sorry to interrupt, but can I speak to you for a minute?"

Seifer grimaced so that only Squall could see, and then said to Rek, "Make them do it again, from the top. If Jabil screws up again, roll up that newspaper over there and smack him around with it."

"You got it Boss," Rek said in his distinct native twang and put down his clipboard. As he started his own shouting at the fresh-faced recruits, Seifer and Squall stepped around a corner and into the dim shadows of the newborn night.

"This better be important," Seifer said. "I'm kinda busy right now. _Sir_."

"I know, and I wouldn't have interrupted you if it weren't important, but I wanted you to know this as soon as possible. I'm sure you've been hearing rumors lately."

"I hear so many rumors I can't tell them apart anymore," Seifer said, crossing his arms. "I'm guessing one of them's true."

Squall nodded. "The one about Lunatic Pandora. They're going to start dismantling it next week."

Seifer's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Good. That place…" he hesitated. He drew in a breath, and said, "There's nothing good about that place." His voice had gone from obstinate strength to contemplative musing.

"I figured you'd feel that way," Squall said. "There's more, though. We've been invited, no, make that _ordered_, to attend the ceremony that kicks off the demolition."

Seifer looked away, as if searching for a reply in a nearby bush. Then, he stared straight into Squall's eyes. "We, as in SeeD, or we as in…you and me?"

"You, me, Quisty, Rinoa, all the old team that fought there," Squall said. "And families."

"Or the team that _was_ fought there," Seifer said in a flat tone.

Squall shrugged. "I'll understand if you don't want to go, and I guess, technically, you don't _have_ to go to the ceremony. But Quisty does, at least according to Cid himself. He wants us there as a gesture of goodwill. Esthar's been trying to patch things up with the rest of the world, and supposedly we're important to that."

"I see," Seifer said in the same flat tone.

"But you do know that we all consider you part of the team, even if some…others…don't. There were things beyond your control…"

"Don't, Squall," Seifer said, waving a dismissive hand. "That's a part of my life I've tried to put behind me, because it doesn't mean anything today. But," he said, his voice warming a little, "maybe it would help to watch them take a jackhammer to that damn thing." He sighed. "Next week?"

Squall nodded. "Cid's forcing us all to take leave for at least a couple weeks past that, too."

Seifer shook his head. "Quisty and I have been trying to get leave for over a year now, and he's finally going to give it to us so we can go to some social thing?"

"Trust me, I know," Squall said. "But you know with all the reassignments to Esthar Garden, we had trouble getting good qualified SeeDs in officer positions until recently. Speaking of which, how's Rek holding up?"

"Better, now that he's not afraid to kick some ass if he has to," Seifer said. The frustration had bled away from his voice, and left only tired acceptance.

"Well, there you go. Once you're sure Rek is ready to go solo on a mission or two, I'll be able to get you some more free time, and maybe even keep you at Garden most of the time."

"Sit behind a desk, you mean? No way, Mister First Commander," Seifer said. "I can see how soft that's making you."

Squall smiled a little. He knew Seifer was right; it had been a long time since he'd felt the battle edge that he once had. Still, didn't they all have their own duties? "We'll work something out."

After a few moments of silence, Seifer asked, "Have you told Quisty yet?"

Squall shook his head. "I asked Rinoa to. She's a lot more diplomatic than me." He saw Seifer roll his eyes and cocked an eyebrow. "I wanted to let you know first, because this affects you, I think, more than just about any of us."

Seifer sighed, and nodded. "Thanks." However, he was still a bit irritated that Squall had seen fit to notify him and his wife separately, without giving them a chance to talk it over together.

"Anytime. Now go blow off some steam and rip those new guys to pieces."

Seifer forced a smirk and said, "Don't have to tell me twice." He then turned and marched back toward the trainees, shouting, "You better be grateful that's a newspaper, Jabil, and not some lucky guard's nightstick!"

VVVVVVVVVV

_So, have you talked to everyone?_

_Yeah. Zell, Selphie and Irvine are excited, I think more to get the old team together than anything else. Seifer didn't sound as excited, but he'll go along._ Squall stretched his arms and let them flop down onto the bed.

Rinoa hummed her agreement. _I bet._

Squall nodded his head on the pillow, and wrapped his hands around Rinoa's, continuing to stare into her eyes. _Still, he thinks it'll be good to finally get rid of that part of his life. What did Quisty say?_

_She didn't say much. I was able to feel what she did, though. It wasn't shock, but she was a bit scared. I guess she knew it was coming, but was afraid to hear that the time came. She didn't act very excited about it, but just smiled like she does and said it would be a good thing for us and the world._

_She's always had difficulty asking for help. I guess she and I are a little alike. _Squall closed his eyes. _I know it was years ago, but sometimes I still can't believe how mean I was to her, back when she…you know, had that crush on me._

_Squall, I doubt she holds that against you now. Besides, you were mean to everyone, and no one else holds it against you that I know of._ She winked at him when he opened his eyes again.

Before he could retort, she pressed a finger to his lips._ She's afraid of what might still be there, I'm sure of it. Echoes of Adel, maybe._ Rinoa shivered slightly, and Squall drew her in close. _Maybe I'm a little afraid of it too. One thing that I always had to deal with was the buried memories and feelings of all those past Sorceresses. While they hold their powers, the powers get an imprint of the person holding them. The longer someone's a Sorceress, and the more recent, the stronger the imprint is. After I absorbed Adel's powers, after the shock wore off, I sometimes could feel Adel's hate, her greed. Luckily, there were plenty of kind Sorceresses in the past, like Edea. _Rinoa chuckled quietly. _Despite the legends, there were far more good than evil Sorceresses._

Squall furrowed his brow and propped himself up on one elbow. _You never told me that. Were there others you felt? Like…Ultimecia?_

_Maybe a little, but I don't remember much,_ Rinoa said. _I didn't absorb her powers directly. I got them through Edea. I always guessed that her kindness and deep love for life cleansed Ultimecia's hate and bitterness away. If I'd absorbed them directly from Ultimecia…well, I probably would have had a lot more sleepless nights. I'm amazed that Edea stood up to it so well. She probably had a lot of nightmares for at while._

_You don't suppose…I wonder if that's the time she talked Cid into starting Garden and SeeD?_ He squeezed her more tightly. _Maybe Ultimecia somehow told her what would happen in the future, and she realized the world needed a force to fight Sorceresses like her?_

_That could be, _Rinoa said, and gasped. _If Ultimecia hadn't escaped into the past, your past, to pass on her powers…maybe SeeD would never have been formed and nobody would have existed to stop her in the future. Do you think it's possible?_

_Just when I thought I had all that damn time travel confusion behind me,_ Squall said, wiping his free hand over his eyes. Then, sighing, he said, _Is Quisty afraid that being there, where we killed Adel, will wake up something inside her?_

_Maybe,_ Rinoa said. _Sometimes I worry about her, like the pressure of being the Sorceress, on top of everything else, is getting to be too much for her._

_But she's not "the" Sorceress,_ Squall said. _Lexie inherited some of the power from you, and I bet Jessa did from Quisty._

_She has most of it, though,_ Rinoa said. _I told you before, this is all uncharted territory for Sorceresses. There's never been just one Sorceress in the world, until Adel's powers passed on to me. When that happened, something changed. I was the first Sorceress ever, according to everything Edea knew and Quisty could find in the history books, to give birth to a child. Quisty was the second. If this has ever happened before, nobody was around to write it._

_Maybe…then maybe the powers are more than just power,_ Squall said. _Maybe they're a kind of life on their own, and they're splitting back up so someday there will be lots of Sorceresses, like the stories say there used to be._

_Could be. I guess we'll know when it's time for Lexie to have children._

_Don't even joke about that,_ Squall said._ She'll never be ready if I have anything to say about it._

Rinoa smiled and kissed Squall's bare chest. _Typical daddy. Someday your little girl will be all grown up, you know._

_Don't suppose there's a way we can freeze time, so that never happens?_

_Not likely, Commander. Remember that the last Sorceress to do that ended up nearly killing everyone, everywhere, in every time._

_We don't need to freeze it everywhere, just around Lexie._

Rinoa laughed, with a slight twinge of sadness. _Someday she'll be grown up, and we'll wish she was young again, but we'll be so proud of who she is._

Squall hesitated for a moment. Then he said, _Speaking of people wise beyond their years…_

_Edea's imprint's always stuck with me, even after…what happened. Some of that was probably her talking._

_Sounded like something she'd say._

Squall returned his head to the pillow, draping his arm over his wife. They lay there in silence for a while, and then rolled onto on their backs. Cuddling was nice, but not conducive to sleeping. After a few minutes, Squall had drifted off. Rinoa, however, stayed awake, deep in thought. Quistis had always been a little distant, even when the two of them had become close friends. She always seemed to want to keep her problems from becoming others' problems, and like Squall said, she had a difficulty asking for help when she needed it. There were some things she didn't even share with Rinoa, despite the practically symbiotic relationship they now shared.

That worried her greatly. She only hoped that Seifer, as her Knight, was able to help keep Quistis's mind together as well as Squall had done for her. If not, she truly feared what could become of her friend.

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis sat at her desk, glasses at the tip of her nose and her hair released from its normal tight bun, typing away on her computer. Every few minutes she would flip through one of the books in the stack on her desk, pausing at one of several pages marked with a sticky tab, and then returning to her keyboard for another furious round of typing.

_Are you ever going to come to bed?_

She stopped writing for a moment, feeling an instant of annoyance as her train of thought was brought to a screeching halt. Just as quickly, she reminded herself that it was a valid request, and if Seifer were up this late working, she'd probably ask him the same thing. She could tell from the echo of his thoughts that he was not in the room with her, but probably in bed himself.

_In just a little bit, I'm on a roll_, she replied. _Hey, since you're up, would you mind if I read you a little of my draft?_

_Draft of what?_

_My essay on Renault and the First Sorceress War. One of the ones I'm going to submit to the Encyclopedia Trabiana for review._

There was a moment's pause, after which Seifer replied, sounding less than excited, _Sure._

Not letting that discourage her, Quistis sent a _harrumph_ across their mind link, pretending to clear her throat, and then began reading from her screen:

"_Renault was the first Sorceress to ever become famous, or perhaps more appropriately notorious, by name worldwide. The child of a merchant with criminal connections, she grew up living on the edge of legality and ethics. After her father died (cause unknown, but suspected to be related to his criminal activities), she and her mother moved to the nation-state Korrevan, what is now called Timber, to start life again. However, their criminal background followed them, and in order to supplement her mother's meager earnings as a seamstress, Renault resorted to seducing and then scamming rich young men out of their gold, jewels, and other valuables. Her mother eventually gave up work outside of preparing Renault's increasingly elaborate clothing, for her increasingly bold schemes. They moved from town to town and kingdom to kingdom, staying only long enough for Renault to "earn" enough of a fortune to continue their operation in the next place._

_All that changed when Renault first became a Sorceress. Details are unclear how it happened, but historical testimony does agree that after she first obtained her powers, she abandoned her life of petty crime, as well as her mother, to seek more of them. Thus began what could be called the first widespread massacre of Sorceresses, well before they were feared and hunted by governments of the world. Renault sought out other Sorceresses who, at the time, tended to live comparatively ordinary lives, with the exception of those who chose to hide their powers "in plain sight" and worked as minstrels, jesters, and carnival magicians, using the relatively meager power available to individual Sorceresses at the time to perform parlor tricks and practical jokes. There were at least several hundred Sorceresses living in Renault's day, but it was then that their numbers began to dwindle to the single-digit numbers with which we have been familiar for at least the past half-century._

_When Renault met these Sorceresses, she would use the same charm she had once used against her scam victims, and drew them into friendship with her. Then, once they became comfortable and unguarded around her, she would murder them swiftly and force them, either through the shock of a mortal wound or through torture, to pass their powers onto her. This task was made easier for her because, as I will explain later in further detail, Sorceresses cannot die until they pass their powers onto another female. No matter what type of wounds or mutilation one suffers, they continue to live in a state of perpetual agony until they can find the release of giving their power to someone else._

_As Renault went on killing, her powers increased exponentially, making her far stronger than any other living Sorceress. She…"_

She stopped for a moment, then said, _Oops._ _I didn't mean to go that long. But do you see what I mean about being on a roll?_

There was no reply.

_Seifer, you didn't fall asleep on me, did you?_

_No, no,_ he finally said. _I just…it sounds a little morbid, don't you think? Weren't you going to try to convince people that there were a lot more good Sorceresses through history than evil ones?_

_Well, I did say that she was a criminal even before she got her powers. She was always a bad egg. I'll expand that part a little more I guess. This is only a draft, anyway. But I didn't even get to the part where the only ones who could stop her were the dozens of Sorceresses who banded together and finally defeated her, saving the world._

_Ah. So,_ Seifer said, and then stopped.

She sensed his hesitation. _What?_

_How do you know all that, like about her family and stuff? Was that all in the history books? I was no ace student, but I don't remember ever hearing that much about any Sorceress, even one that lived how long ago? Like a thousand years?_

_Four hundred,_ Quistis corrected. She sighed. _I guess some of it, maybe a lot of it, just comes off the top of my head. I've got a lot of Sorceresses' memories in me, and I think I've figured out that if I go back looking for a specific answer, someone from the past knew it._

_Oh,_ Seifer said, not sounding convinced. _Well, I know you know what you're doing, so I won't bug you about it._ After another moment, he said, _Are you sure you're okay about going to see Lunatic Pandora again? You didn't sound too happy about it when I got home._

_I'm fine, dear,_ she said. _I'm more worried about you, to be honest._

_I'm ok. I'll just be glad to have it all over with, really. Though…if you want to comfort me more, coming to bed would really help._

She could hear the sly smile in his mind's voice, and gave one of her own. _Just five more minutes. I just need to finish my train of thought._

_Promise?_ he asked.

_Would I lie?_

_You mean, "Could I get away with lying?"_

_Oh, cool your heels, Mr. Almasy. I'll be there soon._

_Ok, I'll be waiting._

Quistis sighed. Just five more minutes. Hell, it would take her at least five minutes to get her mind back on track, it had been moving so quickly. She weighed the options: one, go to bed and have a happy husband, but possibly lose all the great stuff she was planning to write tonight. Two, go to bed a little later than that, have a disappointed husband, but get some good work done.

After a moment's consideration, she shook her head, saved and closed her document on the computer, and pushed her chair away from the desk. _Guess the house wins this one_, she thought to herself. She kicked off her shoes and tiptoed past the kids' rooms toward her bedroom where a husband, and a much-needed good night's sleep, were waiting.


	4. Chapter 3: The Insane Bringer of Misery

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and everything related are copyright Square Enix. All original characters are copyright me. And two wrongs don't make copyright.

Chapter 3: The Insane Bringer of Misery

"Why do we have to go to this?" Jarod asked quietly as Rinoa straightened his tie.

"Because that thing they're taking apart, Lunatic Pandora, caused a lot of trouble for the world. They're finally going to put an end to it." Rinoa appraised her work. Jarod looked smart in his suit and tie. He also looked miserable. "And SeeD are the ones that stopped it from causing so much trouble 10 years ago."

"What did a thing that big do?" Jarod asked. "Crash into cities or something?"

"It caused a Lunar Cry," Alexa said, having obviously overheard. "Maybe they don't teach you that in your wussy _public_ school." Jarod sneered at her and Rinoa shot her a look of stern reproach, but she continued, "The Lunar Cry creates a bridge between the moon and the planet, and all the monsters that have been building up on the moon come down in one big swarm. Sometimes big enough to wipe out a whole country. That's what happened to Centra, you know. That's why nobody lives there anymore, because even plants can't survive on the land now."

Jarod stared at her for a moment. "You're making that up."

"No she's not," Squall said. "Your mom and I saw it happen about 10 years ago. It hit near here, as a matter of fact. We were just lucky it was a relatively weak one, or Esthar might not be here anymore."

Jarod opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again. Instead, he said, "So…this Lunartic thing causes that Lunar Cry?"

"Lunar Cries happen on their own every few hundred years or so," Rinoa said. "Lunatic Pandora was made from debris that fell during the latest big one. They wanted to use it to direct where and when Lunar Cries happen, but it's got so much powerful magic and technology inside that it can't be controlled. That's why they're destroying it. They figure we have enough time before the next Lunar Cry to figure out a solution that's less dangerous."

"I'm surprised that school of yours doesn't teach you things like that," Alexa said.

"Lexie," Squall and Rinoa said in unison. Then, Squall said, "What have we told you about teasing your brother?"

"Well it's the truth, isn't it? They're teaching a bunch of sanitized garbage and keeping the real truth from them…"

Squall raised his index finger, and Alexa immediately stopped talking. "We're getting ready to start a vacation. We're all going to have _fun_. Do you really want to start it like this?"

Alexa harrumphed and crossed her arms. She stomped her uniform's dress boots on the floor of the limousine. "Sorry, _Commander_," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Then, again under her breath, "_Sir_."

Rinoa sighed and turned toward Laguna and Ellone, sitting on the other side of the limousine. Both were pretending to not be listening or watching, but not doing a very good job of it. Rinoa gave a sympathetic smile. "Thank you for the ride, Grandpa Laguna and Aunt Ellone. Right, kids?" She not-too-subtly nudged Alexa and Jarod.

Jarod immediately snapped his attention to his grandfather and aunt. "Uh, yeah, thanks. It's nice."

"Whatever," Alexa said, not turning her attention away from the window.

Squall dropped his forehead into his hand. "We do appreciate it. _All of us do_." He glared at Alexa, who seemed oblivious to him.

"No problem guys," Laguna said with his typical smile. "I figure, if there's anyone that deserves a full Presidential motorcade ride directly to the ceremony, it's you and your friends. Hope everyone else likes it."

"I'm sure Seifer and Quistis are kicking back and enjoying themselves," Squall said. "They've got Kiros and Ward to help keep the kids in line, and I think they're a little scared of Ward." He gave a half-smile.

"What?" said Laguna. "No way, Ward's great with kids!"

"He's joking, Uncle Laguna," Ellone said. "Not used to seeing our Squall joke, are you?"

"It's ok, neither am I," Rinoa said. Squall turned to her with a raised eyebrow, and she just winked back.

"Ok, let's all gang up on Squall now," Squall said. "I'm a big man, I can take it."

"'Big man' is right," Rinoa said. "I'm amazed we got your collar closed. When's the last time you had your dress uniform resized?"

"My neck hasn't grown that much," Squall said.

"Oh yeah?" Laguna said. He leaned over and slugged Squall in the arm. "See? Solid muscle. Our Squally works out."

"And grows his hair," Ellone added. "You know, if it weren't for the scar and the uniform, I don't think I'd be able to tell you two apart."

"I think it's dashing," Rinoa said, running a hand through Squall's hair.

"He takes after his old man," Laguna said.

"Well, nobody's perfect," Squall said.

Laguna put his hand to his chest. "Oh, you wound me Commander! I submit to your superior wit!"

Squall smiled. "I figured it was about time I got in the last word." Rinoa and Ellone laughed, soon joined by Laguna. Jarod chuckled nervously for a moment and then was silent. Alexa pretended to ignore them completely.

VVVVVVVVVV

As the motorcade continued on its path to the ceremony site, Seifer couldn't help but stare at the giant floating column that almost appeared to be approaching them. While it was still several miles away, the three-mile-tall object was an oppressive and daunting presence. The memories it brought back in him, the ones apparently untouched by his years of Guardian Force use, were also quite clear to the mind's eye. They were memories he did not want to relive. They were memories he hoped he could at least help put to rest this day, by watching that infernal machine being reduced to a scrap heap.

"You okay?"

Seifer turned to Quistis, who had put a hand on his leg. He smiled and placed his hand on hers. "Fine, I'm fine. Just, you know…thinking."

Ward, who was bouncing a giggling Tracker on his knee, turned to Seifer and made some hand gestures combined with a sympathetic look.

Kiros interrupted the magic coin trick he was showing to Jessa long enough to translate Ward's sign language. "He says that the past is the past. The best thing is just to think about what you'll do from today on."

"That's good advice," Quistis said, placing her other hand on top of Seifer's and squeezing.

"Yeah," Seifer said, somewhat absently. He looked back out at Lunatic Pandora. "It'll be nice to see that thing turned into a pile of junk."

"It won't all be done today," Kiros said as he made the coin seem to reappear out of thin air, much to Jessa's delight. "Today they're just disconnecting the Crystal Pillar from the mechanisms inside. That's the most important part, though. That'll make it impossible for someone to use it as a…to, uh…for it to start another Lunar Cry."

Seifer didn't really hear Kiros's slip. He just continued gazing out the window, his mind a jumble of thoughts. Ward made a few more hand gestures and Kiros chuckled. "Yeah, me either." Then, to Seifer and Quistis, "He says he wouldn't mind seeing it melted down into ball bearings for a giant trash compactor."

"As long as it's gone, whatever's fine with me," Seifer said, still not facing them.

"I don't suppose the demolitions crews could use a few extra hands?" said Quistis. "I think we'd all like to take a hammer to the thing. Or a missile."

"Well, they never patched the gaping hole you guys put in the side of it with that airship, if that's any consolation." Kiros showed a card to Jessa, closed his hand around it, snapped his fingers, and displayed his empty hand with a flourish. She clapped and begged to see it again.

Quistis sighed and watched her children having fun with Laguna's best friends and advisors. It helped her a little bit in forgetting the trepidation she felt over this afternoon. The problem was, she wasn't sure if her nerves were just over what had happened there and how dangerous it was, of it there was something from the past, trying to warn her. Either way, she would try to stay alert for whatever could happen, even though nothing _would_, most likely.

In the years since becoming a Sorceress, Quistis had learned many things. For one, and probably most importantly, she discovered that she could permanently repair the damage done to her memory by her years of Guardian Force use. The memories weren't destroyed, she'd found, but instead were pushed deep into the subconscious; memories could never be destroyed by even the most brain-intensive GFs. One of the first things she re-learned was that she'd had a photographic memory, even as a child. She'd always excelled at school because of this, but it had been a perpetual barrier to her being able to relate with children her own age. She therefore ended up as a "big sister" to the children her age, much as she was when they all lived in Edea's orphanage. That was also why her best friend when she was a Student, SeeD, and then Instructor at Garden, was Xu Ling, a woman five years her senior.

She'd also remembered some things that were not as pleasant. One thing that concerned her, even though she knew it shouldn't, was that she remembered having a crush on Squall as far back as when they lived in the orphanage together. True, she had tried to be a big sister to him after Ellone was taken, as she had to everyone else, but there was always something about Squall that had drawn a different feeling from her, even if it was just some childhood puppy love. Conversely, she also remembered that she didn't particularly like Seifer back then; she remembered him doing things to her like burying her shoes in the sandy beach and forcing her to run around barefoot looking for them, and sneaking under her chair at mealtimes and tying her shoelaces together, making her trip and fall when she got up from the table.

All those old feelings, of course, had been laid to rest. She no longer pined for Squall's attention, and she loved Seifer more than life itself. Still, once in a while she found her thoughts, and the occasional dream, drifting into the "What If?" scenario where she had married Squall, not Seifer, and where Rinoa had not been in their lives at all. She did her best to pray often and keep a clean soul, but the fact that these images popped into her head always worried her that she would someday become weak and find herself both covetous and adulterous in conscious thought, if not in action. She counted herself lucky that Seifer had never seen any of her dreams, especially those. She was sure (as well as hopeful) that she had enough control over her powers to ensure their telepathic link wasn't active when she didn't want it to be.

After thinking about it a lot, and speaking with the Garden chaplain a few times, she'd decided it was God showing her how much better things were for her now than they could have been, and that she should be happy with the life she had. That was good enough for her.

She looked over at Seifer again, his fist to his chin, still staring out the window at the looming Lunatic Pandora. She reached out with her mind, tasting the air about his head, trying to detect some hint of his feelings. He'd closed his mind off to her, and while she was sure she could pry it open even without him detecting it, she wouldn't even think to do so. Just as she treasured and protected her own private thoughts, she knew he did his, and would thus never force herself into his mind. She only wished he would stop being so macho about the situation, and at least let her help. Being near Lunatic Pandora frightened her as well, but she believed the best way they could handle it was together, not separately.

With a sigh, partly to register her defeat at sharing her husband's secret pain and partly to expel her own nervous tension, she turned back to watch Kiros and Ward continue entertaining Jessa and Tracker. She could not help but smile.

Seifer, off in his own world, felt he had good reason to close off his thoughts. He knew Quistis had enough to worry about without having to deal with the skeletons in _his _closet. He knew she wanted him to share with her, but there were some things he was just too ashamed to tell to even her. Things he'd tried to put behind him, tried so many ways, but in the end, he was coming to believe that they'd always be part of him.

_Fuu, Rai…I wish you could be here to see this._

VVVVVVVVVV

The motorcade came to a stop near a large stage that had been erected in a grassy field. In front of it were over a hundred chairs, all occupied except for the first three rows, which were cordoned off with blue velvet rope. Behind the chairs stood a crowd of several more hundred people, as well as news crews from all across the world. The event would be broadcast across the world and, Laguna had hoped, would be Esthar's first chance in decades to make a good impression on the rest of the world.

All four limousines stopped in perfect unison and the exact same distance from each other, while the military police cars following them formed a perimeter around the stopped limos. First, as per Esthar military regulations, the area was swept for explosives, weapons, and any other threats to the President's life. That sweep took time, and Laguna tapped his knee impatiently. "This is always the boring part."

"Well, they don't want some crazy from that crowd assassinating you," Ellone said. "We wouldn't like that either, you know."

"Ah," Laguna said, waving his hand. "Nobody's tried before."

"That we know of," Ellone countered.

"Why would they bother now, anyway? The election's just over a month from now, the inauguration in four, and 'President Loire' will just be another page in history." Laguna took a sip from his bottled water.

"I have a feeling you're going to be a very big page in that history," Rinoa said. "You saved them from Adel. They've re-elected you every time for the past 25 years. They love you now, and they'll miss you when you're gone."

"Oh, I'll be around. Here and there. Mostly, though, I want to spend more time with my family. I think I owe you guys a lot of time." He waved Squall off when the younger man started to protest. "It'll be my pleasure, Squall, and the least I can do for you. I owe you a lot, as a father, and as the guy whose life you saved several times over." He cast a sidelong glance to Ellone. "And that's thanks to you, too, by the way."

Squall shrugged. "All part of the job." Laguna laughed, and Ellone and Rinoa joined in.

"Never knew how to accept gratitude, did you?" Laguna asked. Squall rubbed the back of his head, slightly mussing his hair.

There was a tap on the car's roof. "Well, here goes. Hope I can remember my speech. Only read it once." As the door was opened from outside, Laguna stepped out and stood. The crowd cheered wildly as a band played Esthar's national anthem. Laguna waved and offered his typical cheerful smile to the crowd.

"Well, let's go guys," Ellone said, stepping out after him.

"Come on, Lexie and Jarod, follow your father," Rinoa said, taking Alexa's hand. "I'll be right with you, even though you won't be able to see me."

"Why?" asked Alexa, finally breaking her morose silence. "Why do you have to hide? How is that fair?"

"Because most of the world thinks I'm dead," Rinoa said. "I'd have a lot of explaining to do if they saw me alive." She shook her head. "Don't worry, it'll be ok. Vanish." White tendrils snaked up and down her body, wrapping her in their luminescence. A second later, her body faded from view, and was gone completely.

Alexa continued staring at the spot. "I can still see you."

Jarod and Squall both looked at her, and then back to the spot Rinoa formerly occupied. "I can't," Jarod said.

"Well," Rinoa said, "your powers give you a lot of insight into the world. I guess a simple Vanish spell isn't good enough to hide me from you. Still," she shrugged, "it should be enough for just about everyone else. Let's go."

She stepped out of the car, taking Alexa's hand. With reluctance, Alexa followed her invisible mother.

"Here we go," Squall said, ushering Jarod out of the limo ahead of him.

"I hate crowds," Jarod said.

"Me too," Squall said. "Me too."

"Can't I disappear too, like Mom?"

Squall gave a fatherly smile and shook his head. "It'll be over soon enough."

After a moment, the four of them stood before the limo, just behind Laguna and Ellone. Squall and Rinoa matched in their black SeeD dress uniforms (even though only Squall could be seen), and Alexa appeared bored but comfortable in her blue Garden Student uniform. Jarod looked positively terrified in his tailored suit, beads of sweat starting to form on his brow.

Laguna turned back to them and waved them forward. "Come on, guys, this is just as much for you as it is for us." The reassembled family of six walked together toward the stage where dignitaries from Esthar and several other nations were already gathered.

Rinoa noticed that, while there was a delegation from Galbadia, her father, President Fury Caraway, was not among them. She was not surprised, and was actually a little glad. Her father, just like everyone else in the world, thought she was dead. She hadn't felt the urge to correct his belief; she still held some of that old animosity toward him, especially with his virtual abandonment of Squall and Alexa after her death.

Seifer, Quistis, Tracker and Jessa met them in front of the stage shortly afterward. Rinoa leaned in and gave Seifer a hug. "How you holding up?"

Seifer started for a second, and then looked at Squall. Squall nodded. "I'm…okay," Seifer said. Then, breaking the hug he could feel but not see, he slipped away to find a seat in the front row. An usher opened the rope and allowed him to pass.

"Not a big fan of crowds," Quistis said.

"Sounds familiar," Rinoa replied.

"I guess you'll be sitting in the audience too?" Quistis said.

"Yeah," Rinoa said. "There'll be a lot fewer questions if people don't know I'm here."

"I'm sorry, Rin. You deserve to be up there just as much as the rest of us do."

"It's okay," Rinoa said with a smile that Quistis, just like Alexa, was able to see through the veil of the Vanish spell.

Within minutes, Selphie and Irvine joined them, having ridden in the fourth limousine, but run most of the way from the car to the stage. Irvine was toting their infant child Auron in a baby carrier, and the fraternal twin children Maribel and Cyan were clamoring to Quistis with youthful and uncontained glee. "Auntie Quisty!"

As Quistis greeted the twins, Selphie leapt onto Squall with a big bear hug. Squall, caught by surprise, nearly lost his balance. "How are ya, ya big stud?"

"I'm…I'm okay," Squall stammered. "You? You're cheerful as ever, I see."

"Uh huh! I love limos! Not as much as trains, but they're still good!" She planted a wet kiss on his cheek. "Hey, where's Rinny?"

"Right behind you," Rinoa said.

Selphie let go of Squall and spun around, but saw nothing. "Huh? Where are you?"

The empty space replied, "I cast Vanish on myself. Most of the world thinks I'm dead, you know."

"Ooooooohhh," Selphie said. She reached out a hand, but instead found herself being suddenly embraced by the air. She returned the hug and kissed what she'd hoped was Rinoa's cheek. She realized she'd missed it when she felt hair under her lips. "Right, I forgot! How are ya?"

As Selphie greeted Quistis, and then Jessa, Tracker, and Jarod in a similar manner to how she'd greeted Squall, Irvine approached him. "I see you're still crafty, you two."

"And I see Selphie's still the energetic one," Squall said, squeezing Irvine's shoulder and drawing him in for a quick one-handed embrace, what Irvine liked to call a "guy hug". It was similar to what Seifer had once called a "manly hug", but had since disavowed.

Irvine tipped his cowboy hat, which along with his overcoat and full beard, appeared out of place with his SeeD uniform underneath. "Wears _me_ out, that's for sure. If you know what I mean." He winked.

Squall nodded. "That was more information than I needed." He looked down at the baby sleeping in the carrier. "Who'd have thought anyone could sleep with Selphie being so hyper? Was she singing 'Limo, limo, take me away'?"

"Well, yeah," Irvine said. "Didn't have the same ring as 'Train, train', though."

Squall smiled. "How's Trabia holding together?"

As the old friends caught up on their adventures since they'd last met, the last members of the group, Zell and Xu, approached. They both appeared quite pleased, and Xu was practically beaming.

Zell rubbed his hand on his jacket and put it out for Squall. Squall took it in his, then pulled him in for another "guy hug". "Hey, Squall, how ya been? The cowboy bugging ya already?"

"Zell," said Irvine. "Something's different here. You popped the question on the way, didn't you?"

Zell's mouth dropped open. "How'd you know?"

Irvine tapped a finger to his eye. "Eagle eyes, amigo. That's why I'm your marksmanship Instructor, remember?" They all glanced over to Xu, who was showing her ring off to the three women. "As if we all didn't already know you were gonna ask her soon."

"Zelly, you big _stud muffin_!" Selphie launched herself onto Zell, giving her the same treatment she'd earlier given Squall, except covering his cheek with butterfly kisses. Zell was taken aback, but accepted the affection. Squall started casting glances about them, and realized some of the dignitaries on the nearby stage appeared quite uncomfortable with the old friends and their open displays of affection.

"Yeah, we're really scaring the stiffs, aren't we?" Irvine said. He looked over at Seifer, who was busy adjusting Tracker's suit. "Seifer's one of them, I guess?"

Squall waved off Irvine. "Just let him be. I think, once it's all over, he'll be in a better mood."

"Oh, right…because of the…gotcha."

After more greetings, hugs, and kisses, including an encounter between Selphie and Alexa that left Alexa in far less of a sour mood, and Selphie managing to control herself when greeting "Sir Laguna" (much to his bodyguards' relief), they started migrating toward their places onstage. Rinoa moved off to meet Alexa and Jarod so they could take their front row seats in the audience. Alexa helped usher Jessa to Seifer's seat where the little girl climbed into her father's lap. After being told twice to do so, Tracker sat in the seat next to his father.

As Squall made it onto the stage, he heard a voice say, "Hello there, Squall. It has been a long time."

Squall turned to the voice and smiled diplomatically. "Yes, it has. How are you, Elder?"

The Shumi Elder, fully a foot taller than Squall, bowed to the SeeD Commander. He kept his hands curled up in the massive sleeves of his blue robe. Squall returned the bow, and the Elder said, "I am well, as are we all. May I ask…who is that woman that came with you in the car?"

"Woman? Ellone? She's over there, next to President Loire. She's my sister, kind of."

The Elder tilted his head. "No, the woman down there, by the two children with whom you also left the vehicle." He gestured with his head toward the crowd, where Alexa and Jarod were sitting.

Squall turned his head to see Alexa and Jarod in their seats, and a seat that only looked empty. It radiated a warmth that he could feel so strongly that it was almost as if he could see her. "You…can see her?"

The Elder pulled his head back. "Of course. Cannot you?"

Squall furrowed his eyebrows. Keeping his voice low, he said, "Well, that's…Rinoa. My wife."

"Rinoa? Hasn't she…" he stopped momentarily at Squall's hushing gesture. He leaned toward Squall and said more quietly, "Hasn't she…passed on? Death, you call it? I remember attending her memorial years ago."

"Yes, she did die, but she…well, she came back."

The Elder pulled his head back in surprise again. "I was not aware that humans were also capable of reincarnation."

"Something like that," Squall said. "There are only a few of us here that know she's alive, though. She's invisible to everyone but a few of us."

The Elder nodded. "Invisible. To all but a few. I see."

"She used an invisibility spell on herself. Since the whole world thinks she's dead and the…circumstances…of her return are kind of…well, secret, she decided that it's best if nobody else knows she's still alive."

"Ah, I understand. I shall keep my lips mummed."

"Thank you, Elder." Squall nodded.

The Elder cast a glance at the others on the stage. They were all starting to take their seats, and the voices were beginning to lower to whisper levels. "I believe it is time to begin soon. Come visit the tribe again, Squall, and bring your family and friends. I think you would be quite impressed with what we have done since your last visit." The Elder bowed.

Squall smiled and returned the bow. "I'm looking forward to it."

VVVVVVVVVV

In the audience, Rinoa and Alexa were sitting next to each other by the aisle. Alexa's mood had lightened considerably, and they had managed to strike a calm, adult conversation. While they chatted, a large man in an intricately-tailored suit walked up to them and looked down at Alexa, his hands clasped behind his back. "Is this seat taken?" he asked as he started sitting down on Rinoa. Rinoa, not wanting the strange man's buttocks in her face, poked him hard in the back with her fingernail.

The man yelped, shot fully to his feet and spun around, rubbing the area of his back that Rinoa had poked. When Rinoa saw his face, she gasped and then immediately covered her mouth with her hands.

"What…did something just sting me?"

Alexa shrugged. "Maybe. Lots of biting bugs around here this time of year. But I'd appreciate it if you don't sit in that seat. Whoever you are." Her words were almost diplomatic, but her tone carried the barest edge of a threat.

The man smiled. "Headstrong. And beautiful. Just like your mother. You look so much like her."

Alexa's cool expression soured into one of anger. She stood so that she was at least a little closer to the tall man's face. "And just who are _you_?"

"Well, Alexa, it's been a long time since you've seen me, but I'm your grandfather."

Alexa put her hands to her hips and narrowed her hazel eyes. "My grandfather is up there on stage with my father, thank you very much." She started clenching her fists.

The man chuckled, and the sound bristled the hair on Alexa's neck. She glanced down at her mother, who was still seated and staring wide-eyed at the man.

"Well, I'm your _other_ grandfather. Your mother's father. Fury Caraway. You know who I am, don't you? I send you gifts every birthday."

Alexa nodded. "So, you're the one who thinks presents are more important than showing up every now and then? Or even calling? I may have been little back then, but I still remember what you did to my dad the last time you saw him! I should…"

"Lexie, no!" Rinoa said. Alexa snapped her attention to Rinoa, who was shaking her head and covering her mouth again.

Caraway turned to look at the empty chair, then to Jarod who was sitting on Alexa's other side, watching the exchange with a mixture of fear and curiosity. He then turned back to Alexa. "Who said that? It sounded like…"

"Nobody said it," Alexa said. "And nobody's sitting in that seat, not even you. It's reserved for my mother, that's who!"

Caraway opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it. He sighed. "I'm sorry. It was good to see you, Alexa, though I guess I can understand why you're angry. Maybe someday you'll let me try to make it up to you."

"Not…" Alexa started.

"Lexie," Rinoa hissed. Caraway turned in her direction again, and then back to Alexa.

"Maybe," Alexa said. "It depends on how nice you are to my father."

Caraway's mouth tightened into the smallest of smiles. "Then I hope I can see you again sometime soon." With that he stood up straight and headed for his open seat on stage, taking care to avoid the group of SeeDs that were migrating toward their own seats on stage.

"My God," Rinoa said. "Caraway, why after all this time? Why_ here_?"

"It's okay, Mom," Alexa said, taking Rinoa's hand and squeezing it. "I won't let him barge into our lives like that."

Rinoa turned a face to Alexa that appeared on the brink of tears. "No, Lexie, I don't…I…I want him to be in your lives…our lives…I just...I wanted him to _want_ it, not to feel that he had to do it. Do you…do you understand?"

"Oh," Alexa said, her voice having lost all hints of rebelliousness. "I…I think I do. Guess I should be nicer to him next time."

Rinoa nodded, and a smile crept its way across her lips. "He _is_ your grandfather, after all. And at least…he's trying."

Jarod watched the man take his seat on stage. "That's your…our granddad? Isn't he, like, the president of Galbadia? Why didn't you introduce me?"

Alexa rolled her eyes and returned to her seat. Rinoa said, "You'll get to meet him soon, Jarod. I promise." She reached over and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. Jarod placed his hand over Rinoa's invisible one and gave it a squeeze. "Maybe it's time for me to give him a second chance, too."

VVVVVVVVVV

On stage, the scene was far less dramatic, and those on stage seemed not to have noticed the mild confrontation occurring just a dozen feet away from then. After a few moments and polite greetings, and after everyone took their seats, Laguna approached the podium. He tapped the microphone, and when the voices had died to a murmur, he said, "People of Esthar, friends, delegates, I would like to welcome you all to a ceremony that, I hope, will usher in a new era of healing for us all. The Second Sorceress War is over 10 years behind us, and today we will begin putting to rest one of the most well-known and dangerous symbols of that war. Lunatic Pandora," he gestured behind him, "as most of you know, was built with a noble purpose in mind, to control and possibly even prevent the Lunar Cry. However, it proved to be just as dangerous as it could be helpful. Many people paid the ultimate price for us to learn this lesson.

"Today, we're going to put that lesson to use. Today, we begin dismantling Lunatic Pandora, as a gesture of goodwill to the whole world, and as a pledge that, as part of our nation's new openness with the world, we will do all that we can to help prevent a repeat of the disasters of our recent and ancient past.

"Here today, as my special guests, are the group of young people who, 11 years ago, were responsible for stopping those who wanted to use this as a weapon against all people of the world: human, Shumi, Moomba, all of us. I would like you all to recognize our representatives from SeeD, without whom the world today would probably not exist as we know it. On behalf of myself and the people of the world, I thank you."

As Laguna, the delegates, and the crowd began their applause, Squall ordered, "SeeD, ten-_hut_!" All SeeD members on stage rose to attention. The applause quickly rose to thunderous cheers, everyone onstage and in the crowd getting to their feet in a standing ovation. As Squall stood, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone, he shot a mental note to Rinoa: _Glad he left out any reference to "The Sorceress"._

_Yeah, or those that "helped" her_, she replied. _Willfully or not._

As Seifer stood, holding a clapping Jessa in his arms, he felt a growing dread within him. Quistis must have detected it, because she sent a soothing sensation back toward him. While she kept her head facing forward at attention, he felt that she was watching him all the same.

_Thanks_, he said.

_Are you sure you're okay? _she asked.

_I'll be good enough to get through this damn ceremony_, he replied. _After that, I wouldn't mind if we could sneak away to some quiet spot, just the four of us._

_We'll do the best we can_, Quistis said. _President Loire might have different plans, and he's our ride. But the Residence has a lot of good hiding places, I hear._

The applause was almost two full minutes long, and includes many whistles and loud cheers. Jessa and Tracker, who had been clapping, now covered their ears with their hands. Seifer could swear he'd heard some jeers or boos, which irritated him even though he somewhat expected it. SeeD had plenty of people that didn't like them, but those same people were still happy enough to live in the safer world that SeeD had created for them. Of course, Seifer wasn't entirely sure that some of those jeers weren't directed at _him_. His stomach started to sink at that thought. _Am I putting Tracker and Jessa in danger by standing with them? What if someone recognizes me and throws something? Or pulls a gun?_

He felt Quistis's soothing waves wash over his mind again. _Of course, she's watching over us. Sorry, baby, I shouldn't doubt you like that._

As the cheers began to subside, Laguna approached the podium again. Squall ordered, "SeeD, as you were!" They all took their seats, and the crowd soon followed.

"Now," Laguna continued when the applause had died down sufficiently, "for the 'main event'. On my order, the countdown will begin. When that countdown is complete, the first internal connections in Lunatic Pandora will be severed, and the device will begin shutting down forever. And because I hate long waits, I made them set the timer to 10 seconds."

The crowd laughed and applauded. _If nothing else_, Squall thought, _my father sure is a crowd pleaser_.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our new era of peace begins in…ten, nine, eight…" A large digital clock behind the stage began counting down the seconds. The crowd followed along with Laguna, as did some of the delegates and SeeDs on stage. "Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"

The timer reached zero. There was a silence for a moment, and then most of the lights on Lunatic Pandora's surface winked out. The crowd erupted in cheers. Squall, Seifer, and the onstage delegates clapped politely, but everyone else onstage and off leapt to their feet and cheered wildly. The band that had earlier played Esthar's anthem now belted out some triumphant tune that Squall vaguely recognized but could not quite place.

One of the players, though, must have been out of tune. There was a high pitched whistle, like that a clarinet makes with a broken reed. As the whistle grew in intensity, members of the band stopped playing one by one, looking to one another to find the source of the sour note. After a few seconds, the whistle was so intense that nearly everyone present had their hands pressed to their ears. The SeeD parents did their best to cover their children's ears, while trying to protect their own.

"Daddy, make it stop!" Tracker shouted. Seifer couldn't hear him. He had his hands pressed to Jessa's ears and was trying unsuccessfully to cover his own with his shoulders.

"What is that?" shouted Alexa. She turned to Rinoa, who was the only one present not guarding her ears. Instead, she was staring at Lunatic Pandora, taking a few absent steps toward the stage.

"Dear God in Heaven," she said.

While Alexa couldn't hear her mother's words, she turned looked back at Lunatic Pandora. Her eyes opened as wide as her eyelids allowed, and her mouth dropped open. "Oh no…" she said.

Just as the whistle reached ear-splitting intensity, it vanished. The stunned crowd was almost completely silent. Quistis looked down at the crowd and saw Rinoa staring at her. No, not at her…_past_ her. She spun around, and gasped. "Squall, we've got a problem…" she started, grabbing Squall's arm.

Laguna pulled his hands from his ears and examined the podium microphone. He tapped it a couple times, and said, "Sorry, must've been a…"

He didn't get to finish the sentence. A low frequency rumble filled the air, vibrating eardrums and causing the ground to tremble. A few people began to scream in fear. As the rumbling increased, the rest of the crowd began followed suit. All eyes were focused on Lunatic Pandora. Its top was beginning to glow red, then blue, then white.

With a dazzling flash, a shaft of light fired out of the top of the giant device toward the sky. The top of the device's outer shell exploded, thrust outward by the tremendous energy unleashed within. Chunks of white-hot debris flew through the air toward the stunned dignitaries and crowd.

"No!" Quistis shouted, jumping to her feet. She raised her hand to the sky, just as the shards of metal began falling back down toward them. The shards recoiled off an invisible shield a dozen feet above the people's heads. With each impact, a section of the smooth, rounded force field became a visible gold and rippled. The shards were all deflected, bouncing off onto the ground and smoldering there. Once Quistis was satisfied that no more fragments were coming their way, she lowered her hand.

A second flash, this one blinding in its intensity, threw a wave of light in all directions. The wave passed through the stage and toward the crowd. As it struck Rinoa, there was a visible undulation like water being hit with a gale-force wind. Then, it ripped away at her front, peeling off and revealing her for all to see.

Jarod, who had been shielding his eyes from Lunatic Pandora, saw this happen. "Mom! Your…I can see you!"

Rinoa heard him, but the words didn't register. What was happening now was more urgent than her remaining hidden.

When Squall's eyes had cleared and he saw the shaft of light, he realized what was happening. _They made a mistake. Somebody screwed up. They didn't deactivate Lunatic Pandora, they made it _active

_That's a Lunar Cry starting!_ Rinoa's mind screamed to him. He spun his head instinctively to look at her, and gasped when he saw that she was fully visible. He shook his head. It was too late to worry about that now.

He jumped out of his seat and ran to the podium. "Everyone, evacuate the area now! It's going to level this whole area! Move now!"

Laguna, who had been watching the spectacle unfold from next to the podium, immediately leapt to action. He shouted orders to his military guard to evacuate the civilians and dignitaries. As he did so, his bodyguards grabbed him from behind and started pulling him away from the podium. "No! I'm staying here! I have to get everyone out!"

"Dad!" Squall shouted. "I need you to take our kids, all of them, out of here. Your limos are armored, right?"

"Yeah!" Laguna said, still struggling against his bodyguards.

"You, Sis, Kiros, and Ward take our kids in the limos and get them as far away as you can!"

Ellone nodded, and immediately ran to Selphie and Irvine to help with their children.

Laguna shouted, "General!"

A man in a blue and white Esthar military uniform turned to him. "Yes, Mister President?"

Laguna pointed to Squall. "SeeD Commander Leonhart is in charge. They've had experience with this before!" Then, to Squall, "What are you going to do?"

Squall lowered his hand to the empty weapon loop at his waist and cursed inwardly. "Whatever we can."

VVVVVVVVV

_Seifer, give the kids to Kiros and Ward! They're going to take them somewhere safe!_

Seifer didn't have to be told twice. He shifted a crying Jessa into one arm and scooped up a screaming Tracker in the other. He ran over to Kiros and Ward, who were approaching him. "Shh, shh," he said to the children as he handed them over to Laguna's best friends. "It'll be okay, you're going to be safe."

Jessa wrapped her arms around Seifer's neck in a death grip. "No, Daddy! Don't make me go!" He struggled against her surprising strength and managed to break her grip, he hoped, without hurting her. Kiros took her, but she kept her arms held out to her father, screaming for him.

"It'll be okay, sweetie!" Seifer shouted over the commotion. "Mommy and I'll be with you soon, promise!" With one last look at his kids, he broke into a run up to Squall who was standing on stage and already giving orders to the SeeDs and Esthar military officers there.

_Are they okay?_ Quistis asked him.

_I think so_, he said. _Hope I can say the same about us._

He felt her trepidation, and her pang of fear that she would never see her children again. Still, they were SeeD, they had a job to do, and they had far more lives to save than just their own or their families'.

Squall turned to the leader of the Esthar SeeD squad that had been by the crowd, in formation, until the chaos began. "Go get our weapons and supplies. They should all be in the Garden Car."

As the young SeeD ran off, Irvine asked, "You brought our supplies? Emulators too?"

"'Always be prepared'," Squall said, quoting one of SeeD's mottos.

"And then what?" asked Zell. "We weren't at ground zero the last time this happened. Isn't one of these things strong enough to wipe out a continent?"

Squall turned to Quistis. "I've got that covered," she said. _I hope_, she thought but chose not to say.

"_You_ protected us from the debris, didn't you? You're so smart, Quisty!" Selphie said, raising a fist into the air and cheering. "We're all gonna see our kids real soon, okay everyone? We just gotta job to do first!"

Nods and cheers met her enthusiasm. _Thanks, Selphie_, Squall thought with no sarcasm at all. _We all needed that_.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Squall glimpsed Alexa a dozen yards from the stage, struggling in Ward and Kiros's grip, trying to break away from the men. Despite their combined strength, she seemed to be on the verge of success. _Why isn't she going with them? _he thought to his wife._ Rin, get her out of here!_

Without a word in reply, Rinoa leapt offstage and sprinted toward Alexa. However, before she reached her daughter, she saw the girl's skin begin to glow.

"I said…_let…me…GO_!"

For a brief instant, Alexa's hair flashed white and a shockwave struck both Ward and Kiros, breaking their grip on her and knocking them both off their feet. Her hair changed back to its natural black as she sprinted toward her mother.

"Mommy, please! Let me have my whip back! I can help!"

"No, Lexie, it's too dangerous! We don't know what's going to happen, and you're not ready to fight."

"Please! I have to help!" Alexa grabbed Rinoa's shoulders and started shaking them.

"Your whip's back at Garden! We don't have it."

"Give me any weapon, then! I can use a sword. I can use a gun. I have magic, I'll be fine!"

Rinoa sighed and placed a hand on Alexa's cheek. "I love you sweetie, and so does your dad, with all our hearts. Always remember that. Sleep." White sparkles of magic jumped from her hand and surrounded Alexa. Alexa's eyes widened in an instant look of surprise and betrayal, and then rolled up in their sockets as her eyelids closed. She crumpled into Rinoa's arms, face serene, breathing steadily.

Ward and Kiros ran up. Kiros said, "Sorry, I don't know what happened! We had her, and then…"

Rinoa picked up her daughter and held her out to Ward. Ward took her and pulled her close. "Is Jarod with you too?" Ward nodded and cocked his head toward the motorcade. "Good. Please, please keep them safe," Rinoa said. "Keep them all safe. And…if we don't make it…" She trailed off.

Ward nodded in a gesture Kiros didn't need to translate. They both spun around and ran back toward the motorcade, where Laguna was still resisting his bodyguards trying to force him into the car. He was shouting for them to hurry, that they had to get the children away _now_. She had one last look, and then returned to Squall for her battle orders.

VVVVVVVVVV

The orders had been given. The fighters and soldiers were split into smaller groups, spread out so as to hold back the tide of monsters for as long as possible. They were fanned out to hopefully prevent the flow from heading directly toward Esthar, which was the direction most of the evacuees were heading. Others were on their way to Esthar Garden, which had landed nearby for the ceremony and, per Squall's orders, was about to take off and head for the ocean.

SeeDs and Esthar military were combined in each group, and each group was placed according to specialty. Fighters with close range weapons were at the front line. This included Squall and Seifer, the gunblade specialists, Zell, the hand-to-hand master, and Selphie, expert with the flail nunchaku. The second line was made up of warriors with medium-range weapons. These groups were led by Quistis, with her long-reach whip, Rinoa, with her spring-loaded Blaster Edge, and Xu, with her four-sectional, extendable bo staff.

Finally, the rear line consisted of fighters with long-range weapons. These included Irvine, expert marksman with firearms, Karob, one of Esthar Garden's top crossbow masters, and many of Esthar's own soldiers who were armed with machine guns, rifles, and sidearms.

As the remaining citizens and delegates fled, screaming all the way, the SeeDs remained calm just as they had been trained. They, after all, had once before seen the energy that was now flowing out of Lunatic Pandora's partially-opened superstructure. It was the same energy as had flowed down into it during the Lunar Cry over ten years before. Squall turned his head to observe his comrades. All were standing tall, waiting for his order. They were, all of them, professionals. And, to his relief, the Esthar soldiers were neither less professional nor calm than his own people.

He checked his Emulator, which was worn similarly to a wristwatch but was about six inches long. Its battery was showing a full charge and the listed stock of magic looked appropriate for battle. "SeeD, junction up!" he shouted. All SeeDs, who were wearing their own Emulators, flipped the units on. Squall flipped the switch on his own unit, and the display in its upper-left corner changed from "Standby" to "Active". He felt strength flow from the device across his body, and his mind became even clearer than before. He just had to hope that everyone's default junction scheme would be good enough; they didn't have time to tinker.

He took a deep breath as he watched the top of what remained of Lunatic Pandora's shell begin to bulge and split. "SeeD, stand ready!" he shouted. All drew their weapons. "This is for everyone! Our families, our friends, our world!" The SeeDs, some his old friends and many newer to the ranks, voiced their confirmation.

"Don't let one of those bastards through!" Seifer called out.

"Boo-yah!" replied the SeeDs in the now-traditional battle cry that Zell had once coined. Squall gave a small half-smile. If they were about to face a horde of monsters, these were the men and women he wanted at his side. Even if it meant his death.

Rinoa held her weapon at the ready and sent a mental signal to Quistis, standing in a battle group a few dozen feet away. _The children are safe. Laguna took them to one of Esthar's bunkers._

_I know. I can feel them._

_Don't be afraid to let loose, Quisty. Remember, your powers can't hurt those you don't want them to._

While she felt a slight hesitation, Quistis replied, _I'll give it everything I've got. We're going to be safe with our children when this is all over._

Quistis had shifted her mind to battle mode, but deep within her lay a kernel of doubt. She remembered the many battles in which they had participated once upon a time, with Rinoa using her Sorceress powers more and more. She remembered how Rinoa would let loose waves of destruction that should have incinerated the entire party, but merely passed through them like a warm breeze and instead decimated their enemies. Still, perhaps it was her age or her excess maturity, but she had far less confidence in her skills. She tried to force the doubt away, because that doubt could kill them all. It still lingered, though, like a tiny sliver sunk deep into her skull.

Lunatic Pandora's upper shell exploded again in another blinding flash, this one of blue light. More shards of metal and crystal rained down upon the warriors, but Quistis swept the flying debris away with a wave of her hand.

No sooner had she returned to offensive posture than the air was split open with a roar of immense proportions. The ground shook, and everyone felt their innards quiver with the sheer force of it. Some of the younger SeeDs and Esthar soldiers yelped out and clutched their ears, while remaining civilian news crews cowered as their automated cameras kept themselves trained on the immense structure.

Squall realized after a moment that they hadn't heard the roar of a thousand monsters careening through the atmosphere, nor of their voices collectively expressing their hate for humanity. It was _one_ monster, and it was coming from Lunatic Pandora itself.

Only one. One they had fought before, and against whom they had barely survived. The roar sent shivers down everyone's spines.

_Omega Weapon._

What was left of Lunatic Pandora's upper shell split outward, rent by gigantic muscular arms encased in black chitin. A pair of black batlike wings spread forth from the opening, and a giant grinning face, split by two spikes forming a "V" at the nose, rose from the structure and scanned the landscape. It clawed its way out of the shell, its body forming from the ether as it did so.

Its chest was humanoid, but below that was the body of an enormous beast, far larger than the human-like torso. Four massive legs, still changing color from glowing blue to pitch black, gripped the mangled shell of Lunatic Pandora and pushed the body the rest of the way out. The floating obelisk literally groaned and swayed under the weight of the creature, and its outer shell split in multiple places, opening up to reveal the hot glowing Crystal Pillar within.

They had seen this creature before, except that version had been far smaller, only about three times a person's height. This one was at least a_ mile _tall, and so great was its girth that it easily split the 1.5-mile-wide Lunatic Pandora. Its two slavering mouths (one on the humanoid torso and one at the front of the bestial abdomen) looked like they could each swallow the entire combined SeeD and Esthar forces in one gulp. The mouths roared together, in unison.

The sound of the now two roars almost literally split Squall's head open, but his junctioned magic helped keep him focused. They could not afford to let this thing, no matter how enormous or frightening, escape. Most of the civilians had gotten away, with only a few fools remaining to watch the "spectacle". This monster had become SeeD's responsibility. If it escaped, it could easily level every city in the world simply by its enormous size. He just had to hope that their deployment, meant for swarms of monsters, would be able to adjust quickly enough to deal with one big one. He couldn't afford to change his orders at this critical moment.

The monster flung itself from the top of Lunatic Pandora, the floating obelisk nearly crashing to the ground under the force. It righted itself just as the monster struck the earth. It hit with such force that all but Quistis and Rinoa were knocked off their feet. The two, Sorceress and human Guardian Force, cast a wave of magic that instantly restored everyone's bearings and healed any wounds sustained in the blow.

Squall leapt to his feet. _Can't let it hit us first._ "SeeD, pincer attack!" He charged toward the creature, his gunblade drawn over his shoulder. Seifer, Zell, and the other short range fighters followed, bringing their weapons up to strike and circling to either side of the beast. Bullets and crossbow bolts began whizzing over their heads.

If there was one thing Squall knew in the second before he struck the first blow, it was that they'd need a miracle to survive this battle.


	5. Chapter 4: Junction

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy is the property of Square Enix. This is a work of fan fiction. But you already knew that. By the way, **please review**! Don't be shy, I don't bite. As far as you know.

Chapter 4: Junction

Squall swung his gunblade, squeezing the trigger at the instant it struck the creature's carapace. The blow glanced off the shell as easily as if he'd hit it with a wooden stick. On either side of him, Seifer, Zell, and Selphie were making their own strikes against the monster, and seemed to be having about as much luck.

The creature turned its lower head down toward them and, with an almost dismissive swipe of one of its paws, flung them backward to near where they had stood a moment before.

Their magical shields, which Rinoa had cast on them, took the brunt of the attack and shattered on impact. However, Squall's died an instant too soon, and one of the beast's razor sharp claws had grazed his chest, leaving it burning and oozing blood. His uniform was split across the chest just below his breastbone; any lower and deeper and he would have been eviscerated.

Clamoring back to his feet despite the freshness of his wound, he glanced to Seifer, who had apparently avoided all but the sheer magical force behind the creature's swipe. Seifer likewise stood and charged the creature again. His weapon trailed him in his right hand while he extended his left arm ahead, a fireball forming on that palm. Squall raised his hand and shot a Blizzaga spell at the creature, hoping to draw its attention long enough for Seifer to perform his Limit attack.

_Here goes nothing_, Seifer thought. Before he could launch his fireball, though, he found himself flying through the air, his left arm a starburst of blazing pain. He crashed heavily to the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Stars danced before his eyes. Again clamoring to his feet, he immediately found himself dizzy, lost his balance, and fell back to the ground. He tried to catch himself on his left arm, but it collapsed underneath him and he felt the pain increase a hundredfold. Despite his training he cried out, the pain so great it brought tears to his eyes. He looked at his arm; it was bent in an unnatural angle just below his elbow, and a sharp point appeared to be sticking into his black uniform sleeve. A wet stain grew rapidly around that area.

"Seifer!"

Waves of golden energy flowed around him and his pain subsided immediately. His fractured arm straightened out, and feeling other than pain returned to it. A dull ache remained, however, as a reminder of how close he came to death in that moment. He glanced up to see Quistis, her hands pointed toward him, a glow around them fading.

_Thanks_, he thought to her.

Before she could reply, Squall shouted out, "Don't get too close to its front! Its defenses are too high. Ranged attackers, fire at will! Everyone else, use your magic. Take robin attacks if you can!"

Seifer had never particularly liked the "robin attack" term, but knew what it meant. Back attack. Go "round" the back of the enemy. "Round robin". It was another term Zell had coined and made stick. Still, it was good enough code to confuse an enemy in the heat of battle, especially since, from what the others had told him, these Weapon creatures could speak well enough when they wanted to. Seifer climbed to his feet and fired off a quick succession of fire, ice, and lighting magic at the beast, hoping one or the other would catch it off-guard and keep its attention from the fighters working their way to its backside.

Magical bolts, gunfire, and arrows flew toward the creature, some deflected by its paw swipes, but other striking its gleaming "skin". Few of them, except for the most powerful, appeared to penetrate. However, they seemed to be keeping the creature's attention and drawing the brunt of its attacks toward them. Those fighters were quickly learning that the monster not only had powerful physical assaults, but a deadly repertoire of magic that it could fire off in rapid volleys.

Selphie led one of the groups that tried to encircle the creature, but its enormous size and their lack of transportation was enough to make that a difficult prospect. Before they could even get around its front paw they were all thrust backward by an explosive rush of air. She flew through a line of chairs left from the ceremony, coming to rest in the grass. She lifted her head momentarily, and then passed out cold. An Esthar soldier who had been in her group, his helmet gone and his forehead bleeding from a large gash, grabbed her arms and dragged her away while one of Rinoa's spells danced over her. She stirred for a moment, and then broke the soldier's grip so she could get back to her unsteady feet for a second try.

Irvine had seen this happen, and tried to circle around from a larger distance, shooting at the creature's eyes and trying to draw attention from Selphie. His bravery earned him a lightning spell that singed his hair and threw him backward a dozen feet.

_This is not good_, Rinoa thought a she sent another wide-range Curaga spell in Irvine's direction. _Quisty and I are so busy healing and keeping up Barriers that we can't attack it. Can this thing even be beaten like a normal monster?_

Quistis cursed under her breath as she healed three Esthar soldiers that had not dodged the creature's latest spell, Ultima, quickly enough. While most of the Esthar soldiers were helping as diversions, they had no magic and their attacks seemed to be almost completely useless. _If you aren't going to help, get the hell out of here!_ she thought. She'd rather SeeD fight it alone and not have to worry about protecting incapable warriors. Her conscience, though, would not let her abandon them to serious injury, even if that extra time would allow her to muster a massive attack against the Weapon. _Rinoa, tell Squall we need someone else to start healing!_

Rinoa leapt two stories into the air to avoid a pair of laser beams fired from the eyes of one of the Weapon's heads. _How will he find someone? He's just barely staying out of the monster's path as it is!_ Still, she agreed with Quistis. She needed to release her full power, which might allow her to heal and protect more people at once and maybe even sneak in an attack, but that would take a second's worth of concentration that, in the current situation, could end up killing someone.

_I don't know, but we have to do something, dammit! _Quistis switched her telepathy to a different target._ Seifer, we need someone else to heal! I can't get in an attack!_

There was a moment's pause, and then, _I'm a little busy Quisty! This thing's damn fast!_

What had started as a coordinated attack had quickly degraded into barely-controlled chaos. The fighters who had repeatedly tried to get to the Weapon's side for pincer attacks had found it far more attentive than Squall had hoped. Every attempt to move around it was met with a sudden gale-force wind as the beast smashed its massive fists together. That was in addition to its ferocious main attacks toward the fighters in front of it. A Flare spell exploded in the middle of a dozen fighters, including Zell and Xu, and did considerable damage to all.

_Quisty, I'm going to try something!_ Without waiting for an answer, Rinoa leapt into the air, but instead of falling back toward the ground, she kept flying. She stretched her hands below her, spreading healing waves across the group wounded by the Flare spell. Quistis followed up with a second healing wave that finished the job, for the moment.

Rinoa then clenched her fists, extended them over her head, and shot toward the creature's upper head. _Rin, what are you doing?_ said Quistis. Rinoa didn't expend the energy to answer. Even though she'd been living in it for over five years, she'd never truly tested her new body to its limit. Now was the time.

It broke her heart to ignore the injuries happening below her, because she knew that it could cause people, possibly her friends, maybe even _Squall_, to die. However, she had come to realize in the past several minutes that if they didn't change their tactics soon, they _all_ would die, and there would be nobody left to stop this thing from eventually killing their children.

Quistis fired off healing spell after healing spell, doing her best to keep up with the injuries, but falling behind quickly. Seifer was right, the monster was just too goddamn _fast_. And now she didn't even have Rinoa's help. She just hoped that her friend knew what she was doing. She tried her best to ignore the cries of pain, to keep out of her mind the image of Seifer with a nearly-severed arm, the image of him dying because she was just too slow to cast Curaga…

_Stop it Quistis!_ her mind shouted to her. _You can do this! You're the Sorceress, for God's sake!_ She cried out and began casting even more wide-range healing spells. The wider range appeared to be weakening each spell, but at least she was able to cover more people at the same time. As far as she could tell, nobody was yet dying from lack of healing. Still, they were being gradually weakened, and if something didn't change soon, all the healing spells in the world would do little good.

That change came almost immediately. Rinoa flew straight into the creature's upper face. There was a sickening crack as the exoskeleton gave way under her strike. Her hands went numb, a sensation she hadn't remembered feeling since she'd first possessed this body. She immediately pulled her arms out of the gaping fissure they had made in the titanic face, and gasped when she found her hands _gone_, the wrists ending in battered stumps. What was left was covered in a sticky, hideously-smelling tar.

The monster reared its head back and roared. For once, it withdrew its attention from the remaining fighters and focused exclusively on her. Rinoa, still stunned by the loss of her hands, never saw the blow coming. Her world went black well before she struck the ground enough force to drive her through the soil into the bedrock below.

"Rinoa!" Squall cried, interrupting a string of Holy spells he was casting. He bolted toward the crater into which Rinoa had disappeared, ignoring the fact that he could no longer see out his right eye. He did not notice that the Weapon had momentarily ceased its attacks, apparently tending to the wound that had literally caved in one of its faces. All he cared about was that his wife, his love, was hurt, and he was the only one close enough to help her before the monster finished her off.

If the first blow hadn't already killed her.

_Rin…_Quistis thought as she continued spreading her healing magic. Rinoa had bought her the time she needed, and she'd managed to get everyone back to their feet. She could still feel Rinoa's presence, but she also detected that Rinoa had been hurt badly. That was something she'd hoped to never feel again. It brought back memories of Rinoa's last moments as a human being, where Quistis had failed to save her life…

"Dammit, Quisty, stop it!" she cried to herself. In three waves she managed to renew everyone's Barrier spells, just in time for the Weapon to resume attacking. She had to stop letting her mind wander, stop letting the doubt in, or else the Weapon would wipe them all out. She did not want that on her conscience for the last moments of her life. She cast another round of Curaga spells, thankful that her powers meant she was not limited by spell stocks.

A large fireball from the creature's lower mouth deflected Squall from his destination. He tumbled to the ground and rolled, putting out the flames that had started to char his uniform. He climbed to his feet, more slowly this time and with more pain, although he noticed that the vision in his right eye had started to clear. He looked into the hole in the ground that had been made with Rinoa's body. It was deep, and while he was too far away to see to its bottom, there was no movement that he could detect. He couldn't even focus enough to feel whether or not Rinoa's presence was inside.

He turned to the Weapon and tried to cast another string of spells, but nothing happened. He checked his Emulator, and cursed when he saw the display flickering. It was cracked at one corner, and the screen showed the word "FAULT" in large red letters. He slapped it with his other hand and the device died completely. Letting loose a string of curses, he tore it off his arm and let it clatter to the ground amongst the melted plastic chairs and splinters of the destroyed stage. He reached into his pocket and removed a small stone. As he crushed it green energy swirled up his arm and across his body.

He gripped his gunblade tightly and launched himself toward the Weapon, screaming a wordless expression of his fury. He decided that, live or die, he would pour every ounce of himself into destroying this monster. He leapt into the air, fueled by his Renzokuken-style attack, and drew back his gunblade. He remained airborne as he struck the creature repeatedly, feeling a further rush of adrenaline when he saw that his strikes were not only cutting into the creature's shell, but actually tearing chunks of it away. He hoped others were watching, saw the amount of damage his Limit Break attack was doing, and would begin their own Limit attacks.

Indeed, they had. Zell sprinted toward the monster and launched into a series of combos, repeated Beat Rushes, and his magically-enhanced Final Strike. Seifer crushed one of his own Aura stones and charged the Weapon, spinning his gunblade in front of him like an old-style airplane propeller. This new attack, what he called Death Slicer, was one he'd long been preparing to use against such a hardy foe.

Quistis was terrified for all of them. She knew they had mere seconds before the monster stopped recoiling from their attacks and turned its full fury on them, but they had bought her those precious seconds she needed to fire off several more Curaga spells across the field, and then turn her attention to Rinoa. She sent some of her strength to Rinoa in the form of an energy beam, and felt relief when she detected the first flickers of Rinoa's return to consciousness beneath the dirt.

After regaining her senses, Rinoa started clambering her way out of the hole that her body had dug, her uniform now tattered and practically saturated with dirt. She had begun digging her way out with her arm stumps, but stopped momentarily when she saw a white glowing energy, almost a liquid, flowing out of the damaged limbs. The energy formed itself into the shape of hands, and then changed color to match her skin. Her hands had actually regenerated, and looked as if they'd never been damaged.

She redoubled her efforts and made it to the surface just in time to see Squall, having just finished his Lionheart attack, being swatted to the ground by one of the Weapon's paws. She raised her new hands and cast Levitate on him, but it only slowed the speed of his descent from "definitely fatal" to "possibly survivable". He slammed into the dirt, his body limp.

_Squall? Squall!_ she shouted with her mind. She sent a pair of Curaga spells directly to him. _Squall, answer me!_

He did not answer. She was still too disoriented to probe his mind across the distance, and in her partially-confused state, mistook it to mean that his mind was gone. She had failed to save him from the fall, and it had killed him.

"_Squall!_" she cried out, her voice so loud it startled everyone and even grabbed the Weapon's attention. "_Squall, nnnnnoooooooooo!_" She clenched her fists and flew out of the crater, rising high enough into the sky to put herself at eye level with the monster's upper head. Enormous white feathered wings sprouted from her back, growing far to either side, much farther than they had any previous time she'd invoked her Angel Wing ability. She screamed in unbridled fury, pouring every ounce of her strength into her upcoming attack.

Quistis watched Rinoa unleash her rage, despite still trying to keep up with all the injuries, and trying to ignore the assumption that Rinoa was reacting to what had to be Squall's death. Rinoa was engulfed in an aura far more powerful than Quistis had ever seen before, and she began to understand. If Rinoa could harness that much power, then Quistis should be capable of even _more_. They might yet manage to beat this thing, even if it had already cost her one of her dearest friends. She began to tap into her own emotions, trying to force anger instead of sadness over Squall's death, hoping they could increase her strength as much as it had Rinoa's.

Rinoa shot toward the Weapon at such a velocity that she created a sonic boom almost instantly. An energy wave formed in front of her the instant before she struck the monster's dented upper head, and the head exploded, spraying the area with shards of chitin and more of the thick black blood-like substance. There was a metallic crunch as she continued traveling at near-mach speed through the ruins of Lunatic Pandora, tearing a hole in the device's twisted outer shell.

Seifer had just finished his Death Slicer attack, expecting to receive his own death blow from the Weapon, but instead was thrown to the ground by the force of Rinoa's sonic boom. He looked upward to see the monster's head explode, and covered his head against the remains that started falling onto him. They bounced off an invisible shield.

_Seifer, get everyone away from there! I'm going to help Rinoa!_

Seifer glanced up to see Quistis begin floating in the air, a golden glow surrounding her body. He had never seen her use her Sorceress powers in battle, but had a good idea of what he was about to witness. Over the noise of battle he cried, "SeeD, clear to point Beta!" He hoped there were enough left conscious to hear his order, and that the Esthar soldiers would follow SeeD's lead in regrouping to the distance from which the battle had started.

Seifer saw Zell, several feet away, pick up a fallen SeeD and carry him away over one shoulder. He then turned to where Squall had fallen. He was still lying there, motionless. Seifer ran over to him and, without bothering to check for signs of life, threw the Commander over his shoulders and scrambled as quickly as he could away from the Weapon. He wasn't sure what Quistis had in mind, but knew she had enough control to not hurt anyone but the monster, as long as they weren't too close. Whatever she was planning, it was best to follow her order.

As he ran, he could feel Squall's chest move of its own accord. He hadn't the time to sigh in relief, but his spirits lifted ever so slightly. Squall had managed to survive, so far. Once he reached point Beta, he set Squall as gently as possible onto the ground. He checked his Emulator, remembering that he had gone for one with as much offensive magic as possible. To his relief he found some Cura spells tucked into the end of the list, almost an afterthought. "Cura," he said as he placed his hand on Squall's chest. Squall's breathing became slightly stronger. "Cura," Seifer repeated. "Cura. Cura." As Seifer exhausted his few curative spells, the large gash across Squall's chest shrank and the bleeding slowed to a stop. His head started lolling from side to side, and he flexed his fingers.

"Hang in there, Squall," Seifer said. "I don't know what Quistis and Rinoa are going to do, but I have a feeling it'll be big."

Quistis flew on pure magical energy, letting it surge through her entire being. She raised her hands and fired off a quick stream of differing magic spells, trying to confuse the beast. These spells were similar Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga, except fueled by her heretofore untapped potential, making them far more powerful than anything a normal human being could wield. She zipped across the sky, casting more magic at the monster, before shooting to another vantage point and continuing the barrage from there.

Rinoa, in the meantime, had extracted herself from Lunatic Pandora and was striking the beast by flying into it from several different angles and then dashing away before it could retaliate. However, these strikes were nowhere near as powerful as the one that had destroyed its head. In fact, they seemed to be causing more damage to _her_; she had to stop attacking every few seconds to allow her hands to regenerate again. At those times, she buzzed about its remaining head, trying to keep it focused on her while avoiding its physical and magical assaults.

Unfortunately, even the powers of a Sorceress and the ultimate Guardian Force soon proved inadequate to stop the creature. With a roar, it fired off what could only be described as a "BeyondUltima" spell, which sent a shockwave of immense proportions across the area in front of it at twice the speed of sound. Rinoa and Quistis each took the full force of the shockwave, having not had enough time to defend against it. They were thrown into the ground, flying for over a mile and then digging ditches each almost half a mile long, evoking the image of twin meteorites falling from the sky.

While the shockwave rapidly lost strength at short range, its long-range force was still powerful enough to injure the recovering fighters and send them, along with the remaining debris from the ceremony, flying. Seifer and Squall were thrown end-over-end and landed, unconscious, next to each other on a patch of as-yet undamaged grass.

VVVVVVVVVV

The monster roared in triumph. The insects had been squashed, and now was its chance to exterminate them all and be on its way. It heaved its massive paws and started walking forward. It saw no reason to bother with further attacks when simply trampling the pitiful mortals would have the same effect. It knew that regenerating from this battle would take a substantial amount of energy, and it didn't want to waste any more of that energy on these inferior creatures.

Below, in the ruined battlefield, many of the SeeDs and Esthar soldiers lay knocked out or dying. The civilian news crews cowered behind their vehicles while they tried to narrate the events before them, having fortunately been just out of range of the "BeyondUltima" spell. Their automated cameras continued to record the grim scene.

Quistis pushed herself up from the ground. She tasted blood and dirt in her mouth. Her tongue was numb, and she felt flaps of it brush against the roof of her mouth. She feared she'd bitten almost completely through it. She opened her mouth to spit out the dirt and blood, and the blood started flowing freely through her agape lips. One of her patent leather boots, which had been ripped down its length, fell off as she tried to get to get to her feet. She stood for a second on one booted and one stocking foot, before collapsing again to her hands and knees.

Rinoa sat up slowly. Her back had literally been scraped off, both clothing and flesh. Her Angel Wings had been torn off while she skidded along the ground, but the skin itself was just finishing its regeneration. She felt the wind against the new skin and looked down. Either the blast or the impact had severed her legs at the knees, leaving her with little but stubs below the torn hem of her uniform skirt. White liquid energy was already flowing down from her knees, reforming itself into her shins, ankles, and feet. The feeling soon returned to her extremities, but she was still badly dazed.

Quistis looked to Rinoa. "Rin, can you stand?" she asked, her tongue feeling and behaving like a bloated dead weight in her mouth. Blood dribbled down her chin, and she wiped it away with a numb hand.

Rinoa folded her new feet underneath her and tried to push herself off the ground. It was a struggle, but she was finally able to stand. She swayed, having to readjust her stance to keep from collapsing again.

"I…I don't know…how much more…I have left…Quisty," Rinoa said. The pauses were not for heavy breathing, but rather to allow her to gather strength to utter the words. This was something she had felt before, when they were first trying to create her body. It felt like she was losing her hold on this reality, that she was starting to slip out of the living world. She was dying, she feared, and didn't think she had enough mental strength to hold on anymore.

She then saw Squall and Seifer stirring ahead of them. Her heart leapt briefly when she realized that Squall was alive, but it then sank when she realized that he would not be for long. The Weapon was advancing slowly, as if savoring its victory, and their husbands were right in the path of it. She could sense the monster's malevolence, and knew that it intended to crush them all beneath its massive feet. She tried to reach into herself again, use her emotions to draw on hidden strength, but found her reserves exhausted.

For the first time in years, Rinoa felt absolutely helpless. She could barely stand, much less rescue her husband or her friend. They would die, and she not long after them. She collapsed to her knees. _Squall, I'm so sorry. I…I tried. Laguna, please…please take care of Lexie and Jarod._

Quistis saw Rinoa fall, and squeezed her eyes shut. _This is it, then. I wasn't strong enough, and now we're all going to die. Seifer, please forgive me. Tracker, Jessa…please know I did my best. I love you both so much. Please, someone strong enough, please beat this thing so our children can grow up in peace._ Her eyes burned with tears, and she gripped the dirt, blood dripping from her mouth onto them, waiting for the inevitable.

_I shall junction myself…Unto Griever!_

Quistis tilted her head up. _Who…who said that?_ she thought. The monster was still bearing down on Seifer and Squall. In seconds, the both of them would be crushed underneath it.

_I shall junction myself…_

_Who…? _

…_Unto Griever!_

_Griever…_ Quistis thought, and looked over at Rinoa. Rinoa was staring at the monster, or perhaps it was Squall, her mouth drawn into an openmouthed, quivering frown. "Junction myself…" Quistis murmured, the words garbled by her injured tongue. Then, she thought to Rinoa,_ Rin,_ _we need to junction!_

Rinoa turned her head to Quistis, the human GF's eyes barely open. "What?"

_Junction! Just…just trust me. Let me take control. It's all we've got left!_

Rinoa nodded. She didn't know what Quistis intended, but if it meant they could save Squall and Seifer, she was open to anything. Even death. She closed her eyes and released the mental barriers she had built to keep her thoughts private. She opened her mind and her soul fully to Quistis.

Quistis reached out and touched Rinoa's core. She felt the vast untapped energy there, strength that Rinoa had not even known to exist. _Junction myself…junction…unto Rinoa!_

She felt her body dissolve, her consciousness reaching out to Rinoa's, and felt Rinoa's hidden strength wash over them both. She had found their last hope. It was a power that could not be touched by one, only by _both_.

A flash of light radiated from both their bodies, enough to catch the monster's attention. It stopped its lumbering gait as its remaining head studied the source of the light. Squall, Seifer, and a few others who had managed to regain consciousness also turned their attention from their coming death toward the flashes of light. When they saw, they could scarcely believe their eyes.

Quistis and Rinoa's bodies had shrunken into a pair of glowing spheres: one resplendent gold, the other brilliant white. The spheres were joined together by bolts of yellow energy, and that energy seemed to pull the floating spheres together. As they connected, they squashed together like soap bubbles meeting in mid-air. Then, they swirled into each other, spinning faster and faster, until another dazzling flash filled the area.

When the people could see again, the intermingling spheres were gone. In their place was a sight none of them could comprehend, and many mistook for a delusion: a woman, at least two stories tall, clad in only a flowing blue robe. She floated in the air, her bare feet dangling lazily beneath her. Her hair, as brilliantly gold as Quistis's sphere had been, streamed out in all directions from her head, blowing in an unseen wind. On her back was a pair of gigantic wings, their feathers glowing bright white and pulsing with life. Her hands were spread forth in a gesture that could have been seen as welcoming. To Squall, it invoked the image of the angel one would expect to meet at the gates of Heaven. For that moment, he wondered if he had indeed died and was about to be escorted into the afterlife.

The creature, unsure what to make of this new insect (albeit one a bit bigger than the others), examined it for a moment. Then, it thrust its paws against the ground, leaping into the air toward her. It came crashing down upon her with enough force to level an entire city.

Its descent stopped in midair. The woman was holding out one hand, the other not having moved from its open position. She continued floating in the air and looked up at the beast with an expression of mild interest. In a move as gentle as it was graceful, she pulled the hand back and thrust it forward. The monster was thrown backward, crashing into the remains of Lunatic Pandora and crushing them underneath its bulk. The Crystal Pillar, its top a sharpened spire, speared the monster and stuck up through its abdomen.

The force of the monster's landing sent another shockwave across the land. However, the shockwave struck an invisible barrier that guarded the entire area, preventing it from injuring any of the downed fighters.

"_YOU WILL NOT HARM MY FRIENDS!_"

The voice boomed in the air with a force at least as strong as the Weapon's roar. Squall, now fully aware, recognized it as both Quistis and Rinoa's voices, speaking in unison, with a strength and commanding that seemed very unfamiliar from either. Yet, as powerful and loud as it was, it caused Squall no pain. The creature, however, roared back, bringing forth even more pain to Squall's head.

The monster struggled against the Crystal Pillar that had impaled it, but half of the Pillar had jammed into the ground and melted the bedrock below, cementing itself into place. The Weapon pushed harder against the ground, and with a massive _crack_, it snapped the Crystal Pillar in twain. Now, despite half a Crystal Pillar embedded in its abdomen, it was free to move.

It opened its maw wide and fired a massive freezing breath at the woman. The breath caused thick ice to form on the surface of the shield, but it did not penetrate. When the monster stopped its attack, the woman lowered her hands to her side and shot across the landscape toward the monster. Squall and Seifer were nearly blown away by the wind created in her wake, but once it had passed, they felt their pain subside and their strength begin to return.

The Weapon, now with the strange pest immediately in front of it, raised a forepaw and brought it down upon her. The woman held up one hand and caught the monster's paw, the force of the strike driving her downward slowly, her toes just barely brushing against the dirt. Then, with a force and speed Squall had never thought possible, the woman extended her arm, sending the creature's paw upward so rapidly it was actually torn off with a sickening _crunch_. As the leg flew through the air, the monster cried out. This cry was no longer of hate nor of victory, but of anger and pain. Thick ichor poured out of its leg stump, soaking the ground beneath. As the blood flowed, though, it began to evaporate into blue mist.

The Weapon reared up on its hind legs, balancing itself with its giant tail, and tried to swipe at her with its humanoid arm. When the arm struck the woman, it froze in place, turned to ice, and then shattered, raining melting ice onto the earth below.

The woman simply smiled at the beast. Then, her eyes narrowing, she spat, "_NOW, MONSTER, YOU WILL DIE!_"

The woman brought her hands together. Inside the palms gathered a growing ball of light that expanded as she spread her hands apart. The creature, now mourning the loss of an arm and having collapsed onto its stump of a leg, merely stood in stunned silence. Those watching the scene from below turned their eyes from the burning light growing in the woman's hands.

With an imperceptibly fast flick of her wrists, the ball shot toward the Weapon. The sphere struck its skin and expanded, quickly enveloping its entire body. After one last whine of pain, the creature exploded, leaving nothing behind but the same evaporating blue energy from whence it had come. The top half of the Crystal Pillar, now released from the monster's body, toppled over onto the remains of Lunatic Pandora. Fractures spiderwebbed along its length, and it shattered into thousands of tiny fragments.

The excess waves of energy from the blast washed over the people below. In an instant their worst wounds were healed, their consciousness brought back, and for many of them, their lives saved. As those who were already conscious looked back to the glowing woman, they saw her skin continue glowing with a fantastic luster. After a moment of silence, her body shrank into a sphere. Intermingling threads of white and gold separated and formed their own homogeneous halves of the sphere. The two sides then split apart into separate spheres, and lowered together to the ground.

A moment later, they materialized into two human figures. Quistis and Rinoa were now standing in their tattered clothing, Quistis again with one booted and one stocking foot, her uniform a mess of tears and missing decorations. Rinoa's backside was almost completely exposed by the torn fabric, and her legs were naked below her ragged skirt. Both women's skin glimmered with sweat and their hair dangled from their heads in wet clumps. After remaining on their feet for a few seconds, both collapsed limply onto the scarred ground.

Squall and Seifer simultaneously cried out their wives' names and, fighting residual pain and exhaustion, climbed to their feet and ran over to them. Seifer reached Quistis first; she was lying face-down in the dirt, motionless. He immediately flipped her onto her back and held a hand up to her face. No breath. He put his ear to her chest. He was somewhat relieved to hear a heartbeat, if an erratic and weak one.

Cursing himself for having used up all his curative magic, he wiped the dirt from her face, pinched her nose, opened her mouth and breathed into her three times. He then listened to her chest again. "Come on baby," he said after a second cycle of assisted breathing. "Breathe for me baby, please." He repeated the breaths a third time, and then listened to her chest again. "Come on, Quisty! I need you! Fight!"

After he started the fourth round of breathing, he felt some resistance against his breaths. He pulled away and heard a weak cough. He saw that Quistis's chest was now moving up and down of its own power, although a bit shallowly. "That's it baby. Keep breathing, come on. You can do it. You're a tough bitch, remember? Keep breathing for me." He grasped her left hand in his. It was as cold and limp as a dead fish. He placed his right hand on her forehead. She was burning up! He pressed his mouth to her forehead, kissing and then nuzzling it. _Keep breathing, Quisty, you'll be okay, I promise._

When Squall reached Rinoa, there was little he could do. He was, at first, instinctually alarmed at her lack of breath and pulse, but then remembered that she didn't _need_ to breathe, and her heartbeat was "fake", something she did to make herself look and feel more human. The lack of vital signs, and the fact that he could do nothing to help her, did naught but increase his fear and desperation. _Rin_, he thought to her. _Rin, please wake up. Move, make a sound, anything!_

He pressed his hands to the side of her face. She radiated warmth as always, and was as solid as ever. That, at least, was a good sign; if she or Quistis had died, she probably would have dematerialized. At least, he was pretty sure she would. He'd lost a GF once in the middle of a battle, and it had vaporized in that manner. Also, Griever, whose existence had inspired Rinoa's rebirth as a human GF, disintegrated when they had beaten both its forms.

That thought then brought another into the maelstrom of his mind. What had she and Quistis done? It reminded him somewhat of how Ultimecia had junctioned herself to Griever, except that this time, the two parts were equal, and had produced a being of apparently immense power. For the first time since Rinoa had died, he felt a sickening fear in his heart.

This time, he was not only afraid _for_ her. Now that he had seen what she was capable of, he was very slightly afraid _of_ her.


	6. Chapter 5: Aria

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII and all related characters are the property of Square Enix. All original characters are mine.

Chapter 5: Aria

Rinoa lay silently in the bed, clad in a simple hospital gown, with the blanket drawn up to her chest. Her arms lay straight on top of the sheets and her hair spread on the pillow beneath her head.

Alexa and Jarod sat at either side of Rinoa's bed, each holding one of her hands and taking turns reading to her from a book that had been her favorite: _The One You Always Knew_. Squall stood by, leaning against the wall and watching the scene before him. While it filled his heart with a sad joy to see them caring for their mother and being strong for each other, it also broke his heart to not only see his beloved wife once again in a coma, but to see his children once again facing the prospect of losing their mother. And it stung him that, once again, he had failed to protect her.

Powerful magical being or not, he had once promised to protect her not only as her Knight, but as her love, and he had failed her not once but _twice_ since he made that promise. Every time he thought about it, it was all he could do to keep from breaking down into tears.

It had been Squall's idea for them to do the reading; talking to her like that would help them keep from panicking, and the sounds of their voices might indeed help Rinoa find her way back from wherever she was. Plus, it allowed Squall to stand and not have to speak. The recent events had sapped away nearly all of his composure, and he was afraid that if he had to speak at all, he would finally choke on his grief. He'd once thought that, as he got older, he would find it easier to control his emotions. Instead, it was the opposite: having become a father, and having already felt his wife and unborn son die once, he was starting to find his emotional wall quite fragile and riddled with knotholes. Maybe he'd finally grown up, or maybe he had just reached the limit of what one man could take.

He couldn't even bring himself to look directly at her anymore. She looked as still as death, even if she was still warm. His stomach quivered, his eyes burned, and his throat was nearly closed off. Still, he managed to swallow mouthfuls of coffee when he wasn't too busy staring down into it to drink. Hearing how calm and composed the children were, especially Alexa, filled him with both pride and with sadness. As their father he was supposed to be their support, but it turned out that they were supporting _him_. While he still feared, at least a little, having to depend on others, he was truly grateful for his children and their strength. It gave him a pride he'd never known before and one that, ten or so years ago, he could never have imagined needing.

_Please, Rin. I know you're in there. Please come back to us. I lost you before, and it nearly broke me. If I lose you again, I don't know if I can go on. God, and I hate myself for that. I should be strong, Lexie and Jarod need me. But I just don't know how I can do it. I can't learn to live without you again. I…I can't be strong anymore. I need you._

"Squall, can I speak with you for a moment?" a voice whispered to him.

Squall spun his head around to see Doctor Kadowaki, who had somehow managed to enter the room and approach to within striking distance without his having detected her. _God, I must be so out of it._

As soon as she'd heard of the disaster at Lunatic Pandora, Kadowaki had commandeered the _Ragnarok_ for a flight to Esthar. With Laguna's authority, she was able to then requisition an entire ward of the Esthar City Main Hospital, a mere block from the Presidential Residence. Everyone from Balamb Garden had been put up in the Residence, but Squall, Seifer, and their children had been practically living at the hospital while they waited for Rinoa and Quistis to awaken from their comas. So far they had waited two days, and Kadowaki had been harassing Squall that entire time to rest and recuperate.

He suspected this was to be one of those talks, but he couldn't refuse to at least listen to the doctor who had flown halfway across the world to care for his wife. "All right," he said finally, and he and Kadowaki retreated to the far corner of the room.

"Squall, if you want your wounds to finish healing you're going to need to start resting more. At least sit down instead of standing there all day. You were lucky not to permanently lose vision in your eye, you know. You have a concussion, and even Curaga spells can't heal that if you don't take it easy. You're not invincible."

Squall sighed. "Yes, Doctor, I'll take it easy."

Kadowaki shook her head. "You always say that, Squall, and you never do it. Your children need you now, more than ever. I don't want to see you having a relapse and ending up in a coma yourself."

Squall glared at her and drew in a breath to begin arguing with her. Instead, he let the breath out slowly and said, "I will. I can't rest now, though. Not until Rinoa wakes up. Trust me, I'd be too much on edge."

Kadowaki crossed her arms and sighed. "At least let me give you something to help you relax, then."

Squall shook his head. "No. I'm not going to be drugged when she wakes up."

_If she wakes up_, Kadowaki made sure to not add. She had studied and treated both Quistis and Rinoa for years, and even worked some with Doctor Odine on trying to understand Rinoa's nature, but in the end, she could do little for Rinoa. Quistis, at least, was still human and was treatable with standard medicine. Rinoa, on the other hand, was a bundle of magical energy, in which Kadowaki had very little expertise. "Fine, Squall, but if I find out you've had any sort of relapses, I will put you under mandatory inpatient treatment. Understood?"

Squall grimaced. While the SeeD Commander was near the top of Garden's chain of command, Garden's chief of medicine outranked everyone, even Headmasters, when it came to medical issues. Finally, he nodded. "I'll be fine."

"I hope so," Kadowaki said, gesturing toward Alexa and Jarod, who at least pretended to not hear their conversation. "For them, as much as for you." She turned and left the room.

Outside the closed room, Doctor Kadowaki crossed her arms and shook her head. The health of all Garden students, faculty, and SeeDs, both mental and physical, was her responsibility. Squall had worried her from the time she'd first known him. As a child, he was a loner who kept his emotions unnaturally in check. She'd been delighted to see that, near the end of his teen years, he was finally outgrowing the emotional shell he'd built up. However, he'd still taken so many things on himself, and she'd worried for him all that time. When Squall's friends told her of his suicide attempt after Rinoa's death, she'd placed him on medical watch with mandatory counseling. He hadn't taken well to it, considering his situation as a widowed father and as the Commander of SeeD, with all the work they entailed. However, she liked to think that she at least helped him cope with his loss during that time, even though by the miracle of Quistis's powers and Rinoa's own determination, his wife was able to return to him.

She had not again seen Squall in such a depressed state of mind until now, and she was concerned that he was headed for a breakdown. She knew well enough that even the strongest-willed person could only stand so much stress before breaking. She worried that Squall was at that breaking point.

"Any change, Doctor?"

Kadowaki turned to Laguna, who had been standing just outside the door and was pulling a mobile phone away from his ear. "No, Mister President. Nothing yet."

Inside Rinoa's room, Squall slid back over toward Rinoa's bed, thankful that Kadowaki had finally left. He stood there, continuing to watch and listen to the children read. This was why he could not relax, and why he had insisted that everyone wait outside. He knew they all had questions and probably wanted to comfort him and the kids, but he wanted it quiet for now, not just for Rinoa and the kids, but for himself as well. He was afraid that too many people standing over them would make them lose their nerve, and perhaps even their hope. Still, he tried to keep them updated every hour or so, and after checking his watch, figured it was about time for him to go let them know that Rinoa was still alive, in a manner of speaking. At least she hadn't vanished, even though her body was still not breathing nor had a heartbeat. He could feel her presence, like she was deep asleep. He just wished she would wake up

He looked down into the cup in his hands. He'd finished off his third cup of coffee this hour and was already craving another. He looked back up at the kids and debated whether or not to interrupt them. Reaching his decision, he walked up to Alexa, who was holding Rinoa's hand and watching her while Jarod took his turn reading to his mother.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned up to him. She offered a smile, and he smiled back. The smile almost forced the brimming tears out of his eyes, and he tried to blink them away.

"She's in there," Alexa whispered. "I can feel her."

"So can I, sweetie," Squall said.

"She's going to wake up soon, I know it."

Squall leaned over and kissed Alexa's forehead. "Your mom's tough. She'll be awake in no time." He took his hand away from her shoulder and started to turn away.

A hand grasped his sleeve. "Daddy?"

He turned back to her. She started to speak, but then stopped. A tear slid from each eye down her cheeks. Squall knelt down, an ache growing in his chest from watching his daughter cry. He cupped her cheeks in his rough, bandaged hands, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. "It'll be okay, sweetheart, I promise."

Alexa nodded, and turned her eyes down from his. She squeezed Rinoa's hand and turned back to her face, gently pulling her head out of Squall's hands. Squall felt a pang of guilt in that lump in his chest. _ I've been so hard on you, Lexie. You're really a wonderful young woman, and I need to realize that you're growing up. I promise I'll try to do better from now on, whatever happens._

He sighed quietly as he stood, walked silently toward the door, and opened it with the greatest of ease. The voices from outside entered the room, but quickly died down as he stepped through and closed the door behind him. He heard Laguna say, "Look, vacation or not, we're investigating everyone. Get him back here…wait, I'll call you back." Laguna put down his phone and turned his attention to Squall.

Squall's eyes were drawn to a television in the corner, tuned to what looked like a news channel. It showed grainy footage of the battle from the other day, and at this moment was showing the event he still could not believe: Rinoa and Quistis fighting the creature, buzzing around it like faeries, being beaten down by a major magical attack, and then morphing into a single being that practically tore the monster apart with her bare hands. When Zell saw Squall watching it, he ran over to it and switched it off. "Sorry," he said. "It's, uh, been on all the channels."

Squall said nothing. He wasn't sure if he was on the verge of tears, but the lump was still stuck in his chest. He rubbed it without thinking, trying to will it away before he finally spoke to everyone.

Inside the room, Alexa's head immediately snapped in the direction of the door. "Dad?"

"What?" said Jarod, broken of the trance in which he had been while reading. "Where's Dad?"

"He's not okay," was all Alexa said before bolting toward the door.

Squall faced the group, whom Doctor Kadowaki had specifically limited to their closest friends Zell, Xu, Selphie, Irvine, and Cid, and of course Laguna, Ellone, Kiros, and Ward.

"Squall?" asked Selphie. The normally spunky and cheerful mother of three gazed at him, her eyes glassy with worry and restrained tears. With her infant child clutched to her chest and her face slack, she looked far older than he ever remembered.

Squall opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead it was a grunt, as the lump in his chest turned into a sharp, stabbing pain. He dropped the plastic cup and clutched his chest with both hands, his world blurring and then turning black. He crumpled to the ground in a heap.

The door to Rinoa's room was already thrown open as he fell, and Alexa was upon him before anyone else knew what had happened. "Dad? Dad! Get up, please!" Her voice was trembling as she gripped her father tightly, shaking him. Squall did not answer. His face, screwed up in pain a moment before, was now slack and motionless.

"Squall!" Zell finally said, leaping to Squall's side. He knelt down to join Alexa, and the others followed. One of Selphie's children started crying in the confusion, and Laguna forced his way through the group to get to his unconscious son.

"Out of the way, everyone!" Doctor Kadowaki pushed herself through the crowd, practically tearing Zell away from him. "Help me lay him on his back," she said. Alexa immediately complied, rolling his shoulder toward her with a strength unusual in such a young woman. His hand flopped onto the floor, and Alexa took it in hers. It was cold.

"Daddy," Alexa choked, her tears now starting to flow. "Don't go, please! Don't leave me! I'm sorry I've been so mean to you. Please, give me another chance. I need you! Mommy needs you! Jarod needs you!"

Jarod, now kneeling at Squall's feet, simply stared dumbfounded at his unconscious adopted father. He was paralyzed, not with grief, but with fear. This was exactly how he'd last seen his birth father as he died of a heart attack. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but all he could do was stare.

"Is it a heart attack?" Laguna asked. "He grabbed his chest…did he have a heart attack?"

Kadowaki pressed her stethoscope to Squall's chest, listening and checking her wristwatch. "No," she said, "I don't think so. His pulse is strong and regular, if a little fast. Help me get him onto that gurney." She, Laguna, and Zell all lifted Squall off the ground, with Alexa trying to squeeze her way in to help. They carried him over quickly to a nearby gurney and laid him flat upon it.

Squall's arms flopped over the side. Zell took them and crossed them over his chest. Alexa, upon seeing this, said, "No! Not like that! That's how they put Mommy's hands when she…when she…" She took each hand and hooked the thumbs under his belt, unintentionally evoking the image of a cowboy, displaying his machismo even in sleep. Everyone was in too much shock to see the humor in this pose.

"Help me wheel him into Rinoa's room," Kadowaki said. "I think this might be from his concussion, but I have to be sure."

Everyone seemed to accept that explanation without question; Squall was well-known to forego convalescence after illness or injury, usually disobeying Kadowaki's strict orders in doing so. Zell and Laguna helped wheel him into Rinoa's room, which was far larger than the sick rooms of Balamb Garden, and had plenty of room for two beds, if needed. This time it was needed, especially since Kadowaki wanted to respect Squall's much-valued privacy. She guided his gurney so it was side-by-side with Rinoa's bed, keeping a small gap in between for Alexa's chair.

"Will he be okay?" Zell asked as he kicked the wheels on his end of the gurney, locking them.

"He'll be fine," Kadowaki said. "He just needs some rest. This is the best place for him to do that right now. But I need everyone to leave the room." She gestured toward the door. "_Everyone_. Even you, Mister President. Everyone but Lexie and Jarod. I need to talk to you two alone, okay?"

Alexa nodded absently as she slid between her parents' sick beds, grasping one of their hands in each of hers. Jarod simply stared at Squall and gave no reply. After watching Squall for a moment, Laguna finally nodded and skulked out of the room, Kiros's and Ward's supporting hands on his shoulders. Ellone stared at Squall, her hands to her mouth, before finally turning and leaving with the others.

Zell stood his ground for a moment, running his hand through his spiky hair and exhaling through gritted teeth.

"Zell," Kadowaki said.

"Yeah, I'm goin'." Zell said. After a bit more hesitation, he turned and left the room.

Kadowaki closed the door, and then went to work examining Squall. She took his pulse, his blood pressure, and his temperature, writing everything on a clipboard she had grabbed from outside. After a few minutes, she approached Alexa and Jarod. "Your dad's okay. He had what we call an 'anxiety attack'. Basically, he's been under so much stress that his body just shut down."

"H-he's…not gonna…die?" Jarod said in a tiny, choked voice.

Kadowaki squeezed Jarod's shoulder, and he hugged her. "No, he's not. He'll probably wake up soon. His condition is probably just temporary, and I'm going to give him some medicine to help with it. But I'm going to need your help, too."

"Anything," Alexa said absently, her gaze shifting from Rinoa to Squall and back to Rinoa.

"You need to make sure your dad gets rest. You know how hard he works, don't you?"

Jarod said, "Yeah." Alexa nodded.

"I need you to remind him that he needs to take it easy for a while. He never listens to me, but maybe you'll have better luck." She offered an attempt at a comforting smile, but neither child was receptive to it.

"What about Mommy?" Alexa asked. "Will she be okay too?"

Kadowaki sighed. "I don't know. I'm doing everything I can to help her."

"I can feel her," Alexa said. "She's there, just underneath. Like she's got a blanket over her. She's there, and she wants to be out. But she doesn't know the way."

While Kadowaki was normally unflappable, the child's combination of emotion and insight nearly moved her to tears. "Keep reaching out to her then, help her find her way. If she wants to come back, then she will. I've known your mother for a long time, and she's very strong. Nothing will keep her from getting back to you." As she said that last sentence she knew it was a mistake; she was supposed to be professional and not go too far in offering too much hope in such an unsure situation. She couldn't help it, though. She once thought she had helped Quistis create Rinoa's body to human specifications, but over time she realized that she'd probably been nothing more than moral support. She knew next to nothing about the body Rinoa's soul inhabited, except that it existed only of pure magic and that it defied every medical convention she'd ever known. She now felt more helpless than a first year med student hearing the death rattle of a patient with the rare, deadly Geostigmosis.

"What about me?" asked Jarod. "What can I do to help?"

Kadowaki offered another warm smile. "You were reading to her before. That's good. I think you should keep reading to her, and to your dad. I think they both want to hear your voices, and it'll help them wake up sooner."

Jarod nodded in short, quick jerks. "Okay." He wandered to the other side of Rinoa's bed, picked up the book, and started again where he'd left off.

Kadowaki watched them for a moment. Then she turned and headed for the door, a genuine smile on her face. All those job offers she'd been given, including managerial positions at hospitals and clinics across the world. She was glad she'd turned them all down. For all its faults, Garden really was her home, and all its residents, all her patients, really were like her own children. She loved them all, perhaps too much.

VVVVVVVVVV

Seifer was sitting by Quistis's bed holding her hand, with Jessa in his lap. He had been encouraging Jessa to speak to her mother, telling her all the things she'd seen so far in Esthar. It hadn't been much, since their first destination upon arriving in the country was the Lunatic Pandora disaster, but he persuaded her to keep repeating her story and she did so without skipping a beat. Sometimes Seifer longed to have the carefree life of a child. He couldn't even remember his childhood, and sometimes it upset him immensely. The fact that Quistis could remember her own, including the time they had lived together at the orphanage, was a point of envy for him, one that he had never shared with his wife.

Tracker was curled up in a chair on the other side of Quistis's bed, sucking his thumb, sleeping in silence. Tracker had been especially hard-hit by Quistis's condition; he hadn't stopped crying each day until the moment he fell asleep. He was surprised that Jessa was never panicked by either Quistis's coma or Tracker's reaction to it. In fact, she had even been the one to soothe him into sleep, far better than Seifer was able. He was quickly learning, just as Squall had, just how different a Sorceress child is from a typical child.

He heard a commotion outside the room. He shot the door an angry stare. _Why can't they keep it quiet out there? The last thing I want to hear…_ then his thoughts stopped. They were almost all adults out there. If they were making that much noise, it was because something happened. Since they weren't bursting into this room, he supposed it was something with Rinoa. He felt his innards tie themselves into knots. Did she wake up? Did she die? Did she disappear? He was afraid to even think about the possible answers, especially because Quistis was still unconscious. If Rinoa and Quistis were still as tightly linked as he thought they were, what would it mean if Rinoa woke up first? If she disappeared?

Guilt tore through his gut. He'd felt such resentment toward Squall and Rinoa, off and on, over the years. He was never able to shake the impression that they were trying to monopolize his wife, even after Rinoa got her independent body. Even though he knew in his head that they really weren't, he'd still had the feeling in the pit of his stomach that, somehow, they were trying to keep Quistis's attention on them and away from him.

He once let it slip to Quistis how irritated he was with them, and she had assured him that they were giving her plenty of space, not going out of their way to take up her time from her family, and knew when to leave her alone. Also, even though the two women shared their own psychic bond, Quistis had assured him that Rinoa never poked around inside her head, or his. She'd tried to make Seifer see through the situation as if their roles were reversed, if Quistis had died and her only chance at a new life was through Rinoa's tireless work. Seifer tried to look at it from Squall and Rinoa's point of view, but empathy had never been one of his strong points. He simply let the subject die.

As those thoughts ran through his head, the real ramifications of Rinoa's condition hit home. If something bad had happened to Rinoa…if she had died, or disappeared, or whatever…would that mean that Quistis was dying? The heart monitor still beeped regularly, but he had little trust for machines. He slid his hand out of Quistis's and up to her wrist. He felt for a pulse and was slightly relieved to find one. Still strong, and it seemed regular. But a heartbeat didn't mean that her soul was still in her body.

He had to know what was going on, or the worry would kill him. He absently rubbed the itchy bandage on his forehead. "Jessa, I need to go outside for a minute. Can you sit in the chair and keep talking to Mommy?"

"Okay," Jessa said. "Gotta go to the bafroom?"

Seifer forced a mirthless smile for his daughter's sake. "Yeah, bafroom. I'll be back."

"Okay."

He slid out of the chair and set Jessa into it. She reached up and took Quistis's open hand, and kept talking to her as if she'd never stopped.

Seifer eased his way to the door, slipped out, and closed it quickly before any noise outside could disturb Tracker. That proved to be unnecessary; everyone outside had gone silent. Xu was clutching Zell from behind, and they rocked together slightly in their embrace. President Loire was sitting in a chair, his head in his hands, Kiros and Ward trying to comfort both him and Ellone, who had wrapped her arms around herself and was staring at the floor. Irvine was holding a sniffling Selphie, nuzzling her forehead with his lips, muttering to her in a quiet voice.

"What's going on?" he asked. Everybody but Laguna looked up at him, faces slack. Nobody responded. "Zell? Selphie? What happened?"

Zell turned away and gripped Xu's hands tightly. Selphie stared at him, but seemed unable to find words for her quivering lips to speak. Finally, Irvine said, "Squall came out of their room and collapsed."

"H-he…he grabbed his…ch-chest," Selphie said. She pressed her lips together and drew in a sniffling breath. "He…he had a…a.," she started sobbing, but managed the last few words, "h-heart attack, I think." Irvine pulled her close again, and she continued sobbing into his chest. Their twins stood and each hugged their mother at the waist.

Seifer's mouth fell open, and he brought his fist to his mouth. First Quistis and Rinoa, now this. This was becoming far more than he could handle. _Squall…a heart attack? No, can't be. He…he can't…_ "Can't be," he said, shaking his head. "It was something else. Squall doesn't have heart attacks." He felt as confident about those words as he was of the fact that his wife and children were in the room he had just left.

"You're right, Seifer, at least this time. He didn't have a heart attack."

All eyes turned to Kadowaki, who had just exited Rinoa's room. Laguna shot to his feet, practically throwing Kiros and Ward off him. Kadowaki held up her hands and waved them downward. "He's been on edge ever since the battle, so his injuries haven't had a chance to really heal. After being so tense these two days, he just succumbed to exhaustion. He'll be okay, he just needs some rest."

"But he grabbed his chest…" Zell started.

"Which is where one of his unhealed wounds is, Zell," Kadowaki said. "I imagine it hurt quite a bit at that moment."

"And Rinoa? How is she?"

All eyes turned to Seifer, but he was too busy staring at Kadowaki to notice. Kadowaki held up her hands in a questioning gesture. "She's still unconscious, but Lexie is sure her mind is there."

"Lexie can do that?" That question came from Selphie.

Kadowaki put a hand to her forehead. She realized what she'd just let slip, and that Squall and Rinoa had not gone into much detail with their friends about Alexa's abilities as a Sorceress. "It's…something I can't really explain."

Seifer, however, perfectly understood both Alexa's special abilities and that they were to be trusted. He sighed. He was never a religious man, but found himself thanking God, or Hyne, or whoever else was responsible for the little miracles. He'd lost enough friends in his life, and Squall, well, he supposed Squall was probably the best friend he had, despite the occasional tension between them. He was the one, second only to Quistis, who Seifer thought really understood him.

He spent a minute or two listening to the questions being thrown in Kadowaki's direction as well as her general, somewhat dodgy answers. He was glad nobody had asked him about Quistis. Talking was not something he was in the mood to do. When he'd had enough listening, he turned and re-entered Quistis's room. He had a new hope, however slight, and now more than ever he needed to think first and foremost about his own family. At this point, it was all he could handle. Despite his new worry over Squall, he could not help but be relieved at the news about Rinoa and, by proxy, Quistis. He lifted Jessa from the seat, sat down in it, and set her back on his lap.

"All better Daddy?"

_No, Jessa, not really. Not by a longshot._ "Yeah," he said. "All better." He took Quistis's hand. _Quisty, I know you're in there. Please, give me some kind of sign. I have to know. I can't lose you. I've already lost… _He stopped himself. He wasn't sure if she could hear him thinking to her, but if she could, he didn't want to lay that on her. All he wanted was for her to find her way back, not guilt her into doing so.

_I'll be here with you, Quisty. Even if it's for the rest of our lives, I'll be right here with you._

VVVVVVVVVV

Floating. Floating.

Peaceful.

Calm.

She hadn't felt this in a long time.

Quistis let the warmth continually wash over her body, soaking every pore with contention. A soft, thin robe, one that felt like it was made of the finest silk the world had ever known, flowed about her skin and caressed it. It was paradise. She didn't care what had happened, where she was, or how she got here. She just wanted this peace now and forever. It felt so good to forget, and be calm.

She had lost track of time, feeling herself fade in and out too many times to count. Only recently had her consciousness remained long enough for her to feel any sort of passage of time. After a while of drifting aimlessly, she opened her eyes. The view around her was white, almost uniformly so, but it did not hurt her eyes to view it. She spun around in the air lazily, enjoying the sense of euphoric vertigo it gave her. As her gaze passed along the nearly featureless surroundings, she glimpsed what she thought was a horizon, shrouded in a gossamer mist.

Recognition filled her immediately.

_The Crossroad!_

The calm for which she had yearned broke, and all her memories rushed back to her. _Monster. There was a monster._ They fought it, and lost. _Lost? No…I can't be…_

It didn't kill her. At least, she was pretty sure it hadn't. She'd gotten back up. She didn't fight with her normal powers this time. She'd touched…something…some hidden power within Rinoa…or was it within herself? She and Rinoa harnessed this energy and…

They did…something… It felt right, almost like an instinct, or an old memory…

They…joined. Like a Guardian Force being junctioned to its master.

_I shall junction myself…Unto Griever!_

_Junction…unto Rinoa!_

They became one being. Two minds, two bodies, intertwined into one will. Their power was immense. It was more than the sum of their separate powers. It was the power only a goddess could wield.

They used that power to destroy the creature.

And then she was gone.

And then she was _here_.

Fear and worry filled the new void in her heart. _Am I dead? Where is everyone? Did they survive? Who will take care of Jessa and Tracker? Please God, tell me everyone is okay!_

"Seifer!" she cried out. "Rinoa! Squall! Xu! _Anyone_!"

No reply. Just calm. That maddening silence that only a moment before had been her respite.

"Zell! Selphie! Irvine!"

"Hello?"

The voice was weak, childlike in its timidity. But it was something other than the silence that had responded before.

"Who's there?" she said to the white void.

"Samantha? Is it you?"

The voice was pitiable, as if it had emitted from young lips too tired and dried out to shout. It wasn't anyone she knew, but by God, it was _someone_.

"Where are you?" she asked the nothingness.

"I'm here, Samantha! Oh, please, come find me!"

"Keep talking to me, please! I'm coming!"

She faced the voice and willed herself to follow it. Her body, if her presence in the Crossroad could be called that, flew in the direction of the child's voice. While the apparent lack of gravity in this world robbed her of any sense of up or down, she felt sure she was heading "down", toward the "ground". Memories flashed back to her of the many times she'd visited this plane of existence. First was as Rinoa died; as she was being pulled toward the afterlife, she asked Quistis to guard the Sorceress powers, watch over Squall and Alexa…

But Rinoa never passed on. Quistis was here so many times after that, visiting her noncorporeal friend, up until she had finally succeeded in giving her a second chance of life as a purely magical being in the living world.

As she approached the "ground", the soothing warmth completely left her. It was replaced by a cool breeze that passed easily through her silken robe. It was not bone-chilling, but the change was uncomfortable.

She landed on the ground, and it gave way slightly under her bare feet. The ground seemed strangely warm, almost alive. She scanned about her; she was sure she'd followed the voice to its source, but could see nothing. She took a step forward, and noticed that the ground clung tenaciously to her soles. She had to rip them away from the ground at each step, like she was walking on freshly-tarred pavement. The sensation made her spine crawl.

"Hello? Are you still there?" she called out.

"I'm here. Can't you see me?"

Quistis spun around, a move made slightly difficult by the sticky ground, and as the mist swirled away, she saw what had been calling her.

She gasped.

The ground appeared to have bulged upward into a lump a few feet ahead of her, as if the ground were stricken with acne. It was completely white, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground, except for an area at the lump's apex. She examined the spot and found that it was a face. A _human_ face. That of a child, no older than 12 or 13, she guessed. The face was alive, though, and turned its reddened, tear-burned eyes toward her.

Out of the dried, cracked lips came, "Please, help me, Samantha. I waited like you said, but it's been so long. I'm scared. I went looking for you, but I couldn't move anymore. I just sat down and waited. I'm so scared." The face sobbed, but dryly, as if all the moisture had long left her.

Quistis walked over to her, finding it increasingly difficult to peel herself away from the ground at each step. She knelt down next to the mound and touched it. Like the ground, it seemed to want to grab her hand and hold it down. She ripped her hand away and instead touched the child's face. The skin was so cold…like death.

"I'm here, you don't need to be scared." Quistis stroked the girl's face which, aside from puffy eyelids and dry split lips, seemed unmarred by either death or her encasement in…whatever the white substance was.

The girl's sobs grew louder and more ragged. "You…you're not…Samantha… Samantha, where are you? I'm so scared!"

"Shh, shh," Quistis said, huddling herself against the white mound. She pressed her cheek against the child's forehead. It was icy, but seemed to be warming at her touch. "I'm here now, I can help you."

How that was, she wasn't sure. She felt her whole body sticking to the white stuff that had entrapped the child. However, perhaps she was mistaken, but as she held close to the child, she thought she could see the white residue slowly drawing away from the girl's cheek.

"No you can't," the girl said between sobs. "It'll get you too. It's already getting you."

"Shh, shh," Quistis repeated, easily drawing on every instinct as a mother to soothe this child's panic. It enabled her to show a calm that she wasn't sure she felt herself. She turned her eyes down to one of her feet; her toes now appeared almost completely covered by the white substance, which was inching its way up her instep toward her ankle. She pulled gently on that foot, but it was completely stuck in place. She closed her eyes and tried to put it out of her mind, even as the icy chill started to crawl its way up her leg.

"Can you make it go away?"

"I…" Quistis started. Could she? She didn't even know what "it" was, except that with them being in the Crossroad, it had to be some kind of metaphysical force. Was it pulling them to Heaven? Was it pulling them to Hell? Was it a trap to keep them in limbo forever? All paths led her mind to the conclusion that she really _was _dead.

"Are you a Sorceress?" the girl asked.

The question caught her totally by surprise. _A Sorceress?_ What did this child know? Who was Samantha? Was she another Sorceress from history? She searched her shared memories, trying to touch the life of the Sorceress (or any Sorceress for that matter) named Samantha. However, her mind was in too much turmoil for her to concentrate on any one entity from the past.

"Y-yes, I'm a Sorceress," she said. _At least I was_, she thought. _If I'm really dead…but…I don't remember passing on my powers…_

"Please make it go away."

"How?" Quistis asked.

"I…I…I don't know," the child said, sobbing again. Quistis held her tighter, and felt the child's skin warming even further. In the corner of her eye, she could see the child's ear, and a lock of red hair, now emerging from the retreating goo. She felt her heart pour itself out for the child, a motherly love that came to her almost instinctually. As it did, she saw the substance retreat even more quickly, exposing the girl's ear completely.

_Love_, she thought. _Does love repel it somehow?_ It made sense to her; every real feat she had managed as a Sorceress seemed to have been done out of love. Even if it wouldn't work, she had little else she could try at the moment. She closed her eyes, and delved deep down into her heart. She reached for all the love she felt for her children, for her husband, for her friends. She pulled on it, and once released it poured from her, almost out of control. Tears came to her eyes as years of self-imposed control broke down, and her emotions were laid bare.

_Jessa, I love you. Tracker, I love you. Seifer, I love you. Rinoa, I love you. Squall, I love you. Xu, Zell, Selphie, Irving, Cid…everyone…_

"I love you," she breathed. Her tears began to run down her cheeks, onto the girl's face. She wasn't sure why her emotions had been so easily brought forth like this, but it was as if her will to hide them, to hide _herself_, had washed away from her heart. Through her own wet sobs, her teary eyes squeezed shut, she continued, "I love you. I love you, I love you…"

The reaction was so swift that she nearly gasped with surprise. The clinging material sluiced away from herself and the child, and the cool air became warm, as if the clouds had just washed away and bathed the area in bright sunlight.

She opened her eyes. The feeling of calm that had filled her when she first arrived was returning, replacing the outpouring of emotion she had experienced only seconds before. The mist that had surrounded them was gone, and the place seemed far more inviting and friendly than before. It felt a lot more like it was when she visited Rinoa all these times.

She pulled her cheek away from the child's forehead and looked down at her. They were both completely cleared of the sticky mess, and she could now see the child as she was.

She did indeed look to be about 12 years old. She had long, almost knee-length red hair, flowing from her head down onto the ground about her. Her skin was fair, her face mottled with freckles. She wore what looked like a nightshirt, with the design of a Moogle on its front. The Moogle was a fictional creature that looked somewhat like an upright-walking cat, with a red pom-pom dangling from a single antenna on its head. The art style of the character on the girl's nightshirt reminded her of old cartoons she had shown her kids, ones made at least 20 or 30 years before Quistis herself had been born.

_How long has she been here?_

She turned her eyes back up to the girl's face, and saw the most striking green eyes she had ever seen looking back up at her. They were the green of trees, of grass, of happier days and spring afternoons. They reminded her a lot of Selphie's eyes, as she thought about it…

"Is it…is it okay now?" the girl asked.

Quistis smiled. "Yes it is, dear. You're safe now."

The girl stared into her eyes a moment longer, and then grabbed her in a fierce hug. The child was exceptionally strong, but Quistis didn't mind. For some reason, despite the fact that she wasn't even sure if she was still alive, she was happy. She returned the child's embrace.

"Thank you."

Quistis let a beat pass then asked, "What's your name, sweetie?"

"I'm…I'm…scared…"

"No, don't be scared," Quistis said. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll go first. I'm Quistis. Quistis Almasy. I'm from…Balamb." She chose to omit her ties to SeeD for the moment – if this child knew about Sorceresses, she could also know about SeeD and their mission, and that could complicate things at this moment.

"Aria," the girl said finally. "Zephyr. Aria Zephyr."

"Aria," Quistis echoed. "Such a pretty name for such a pretty girl."

The girl slid her hand up Quistis's back and gently grasped a tuft of her hair. "Do you know Samantha?"

Quistis's heart sank a little. The name Samantha didn't seem to be anywhere in her memories, either her own or those she'd inherited, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Just because this girl knew _about_ Sorceresses didn't mean that she actually knew one personally.

"Who is Samantha? Is she your friend? Your sister?"

The girl nodded, rubbing her head against Quistis's silken robe. Quistis felt a little moisture beginning to soak her chest; it seemed the child had found new tears to shed. "She's…m-my sister. She…she said she'd come back for me…"

Quistis held her tongue for a second, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Is Samantha…a Sorceress?"

"Uh-huh," the girl said. "And it's my fault, too."

"Your…_your_ fault?"

"Uh-huh," the girl said again. "She tried to protect me, but there were too many of them…"

"Quisty, I've found the way," came a voice, echoing in the white emptiness. Rinoa's voice! "Come on!"

She felt the girl being pulled from her arms. She opened her eyes to see that she was being lifted from the ground, tugged away from the frightened child.

"N…no!" the child cried as she realized Quistis was leaving her. The girl tried to hold on tightly, but some force was pulling Quistis away. "No, don't leave me! I'm scared to be alone again!"

Quistis grabbed the child's hands in hers and held tightly, but the force pulling her away was too strong. "I'll be back, sweetie, I promise."

"No, that's what Samantha said, but she never came back! If you go, the evil stuff will get me again!"

Time was running out, and Quistis was starting to lose her perception of the Crossroad. It was a familiar feeling like waking from a dream: she was returning to her body, returning to the living world. It was the same sensation she had experienced every other time she'd left the Crossroad.

Thinking quickly, she took one hand away and pulled at one of her gold stud earrings. She heard the metal backing slide off the pin and then pop off, falling to the ground and hitting with a barely audible _clink_. She placed the earring in one of the girl's outstretched hands. "Take this, Aria. Keep it with you. If you get scared, hold it tight and call my name. I promise I'll answer. You don't have to be scared. I'll come back and find you as soon as I can."

The child accepted the piece of jewelry and squeezed it tight in her palm, not taking her eyes away from Qustis's. "Do, do you swear? Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"Cross my heart," Quistis said, her other hand slipping quickly from Aria's grip. When it finally gave way, Quistis felt as if sprung backward by a rubber band.

Her point of view quickly faded away, the child's voice airy and faint as it said, "Please come back soon!"

Then it was darkness. Darkness, and a chill. She felt numb all over. Numb and tired.

She took a breath. Deep and cool, it stung her throat. But it was a feeling. A _living_ feeling.

"Mommy?"

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis opened her eyes, and then immediately shut them again. The room light, relatively dim to anyone else, was painful to her eyes, which had been closed for over two straight days.

"Mommy? Are you awake?" She felt a pair of small warm hands caress her cold left hand. Another larger hand, rough and calloused, stroked that arm.

"Quisty?"

"S…Seif…er…" she said. It came out as a whisper; her voice wasn't working.

"Mommy!" Jessa's voice was shrill and excited, and it hurt Quistis's ears. "Tracker, wake up! Mommy awake!"

"Huh? M-Mommy?"

"Hey…guys," Quistis said, trying to force her eyelids open. They felt sticky, as if the moisture had long left them. She rolled her eyes about, trying to force tears into them, and when they finally came, she opened them into a squint. Seifer, Jessa, and Tracker were over her, watching her. "How…how is…everyone?"

"Everyone's okay, Quisty," Seifer said. "We got banged up pretty bad, but everyone's alive. Thanks to you."

She first noticed at that moment that Seifer's forehead was bandaged. "Seifer, I…I…"

"It's okay, Quisty," Seifer said, squeezing her hand. "Everything will be okay, I promise." He pressed the Call button on the side of Quistis's bed.

VVVVVVVVVV

Squall's head felt as if it were about to explode. He must have hit it on something, but he didn't remember what. The last thing he remembered was opening the door to talk to everyone outside the room. He rolled his head from side to side, trying to clear it. It helped a little.

He opened his eyes to see a pair of silhouettes before him. "What happened?" he asked. As his vision cleared, he gasped. Standing over him were Alexa and Rinoa! "You're…awake!"

Rinoa smiled. "How are you feeling?"

Squall grunted. "_I'm_ the one who's supposed to be asking _you_ that."

"Well, _I'm_ fine. I had you all here to help me find my way back. Lexie and Jarod told me what happened to you."

Squall shrugged and pushed himself up to a sitting position. It made his head spin and his stomach churn, but he refused to continue lying down at a time like this. "I don't…even know what happened. I was going outside to talk to everyone, and then I'm lying here with you awake and looking down at me."

"Doctor Kadowaki said you had an anxiety attack," Rinoa said. She placed her perpetually warm hand to his slightly damp forehead. The pain immediately began to ebb away.

"Anxiety?" he asked. "No. Must've been my concussion or something. I didn't faint."

"That's what the doctor said, Daddy," Alexa said. She slid onto the bed and grabbed Squall in a hug. Squall was caught by surprise for a moment, but returned the hug. Rinoa joined in, as did Jarod, who remained silent.

"I'm okay, guys, really. Your mom's awake. That's what I want us to be happy about."

"I'm happy that we're all back together," Rinoa said. "That's enough for me."

"Me too," Jarod said, breaking his silence.

"Me three," Alexa said. "And…I'm sorry. Sorry I've been such a jerk. I just…no, I'm not gonna excuse it. I'm just sorry. I'll be better from now on."

"It's okay, sweetie," Rinoa said. "We're all family, and we'll always love each other. That's what's important."

Alexa nodded. "I…I just wanna go home. Can we go home? Please?"

Squall patted his daughter's head, still pressed against his shoulder. He looked at Rinoa, who nodded. "Yeah, we'll go home."

VVVVVVVVVV

Doctor Kadowaki wrote down Quistis's blood pressure on her chart and then slid the deflated cuff off her arm. "Your pulse is strong, and your blood pressure is back to normal. As far as I can tell, you're as healthy as you've ever been."

"She's one tough cookie," Seifer said, kissing Quistis's forehead.

"Cookie!" Jessa said, either confirming Seifer's statement, or expressing her desire for a baked treat.

"I want a cookie too!" Tracker said. "And for Mommy too!"

Quistis laughed. Then, in a slightly lower voice, she said, "Doctor, when you're in a coma, do you…dream?"

"Some people do," Kadowaki said. "It depends on the type of coma. Some, like yours, are just a very deep sleep. Parts of the brain, especially the subconscious, can be hyperactive, while other parts, like the ones that let you move and react to the world around you, are out cold. Did you dream?"

Quistis bit her lip. "I…think so. What about for others?"

Kadowaki sighed. "For others, their brains completely shut down, except for the basic functions needed to keep them alive. Those people don't dream, and probably aren't even aware of the passage of time."

"So, really, Quistis was just sleeping," Seifer said. "So she'll be okay?"

"I'd like to keep you under observation for another day or so, since you just came out of it, but if your vitals stay as strong as they look now, you should be perfectly fine."

Seifer nodded. "Good. I think…I think it's best if we just go home."

Quistis looked away for a moment, then squeezed Seifer's hand. "Seifer, I don't…I…I think I need to stay."

Seifer and Kadowaki turned to her. "Why?" he asked.

"I have to know what happened. Why Lunatic Pandora went haywire. Why…how…I have to understand…what happened to me and Rinoa. If I'm going to figure that out, I think I have to be here, where it happened. Where I can get into Odine's lab and do some research. You and the kids can go home if you want, but I need to stay at least for a little while."

Seifer was silent for a few seconds. Then, he said, "If you're gonna stay, then we all are. We're here with you Quisty, always."

"Yah Mommy, we stay here!" Jessa said.

"Yeah!" Tracker said.

Quistis smiled. "Thanks, guys. I'm sure that'll be okay if I stay in Esthar for a while, Doctor?"

Kadowaki nodded. "I've been meaning to do an inspection of Esthar Garden's infirmary anyway. I'll stick around for a few days, so I'll be here if you need me."

"Thanks," Quistis said, and then leaned her head back. Jessa wriggled out of Seifer's grip and crawled across the bed onto Quistis, hugging her tightly. Tracker jumped up onto the bed, narrowly missing one of Quistis's legs, and then squirmed his way to her other side.

Quistis squeezed them both tightly and smiled. Then, her smile faded slightly as she reflected on her dream. A young girl, trapped in the Crossroad. Surely it couldn't have been real. She would have seen the girl the other times she'd been there. Wouldn't she?

She didn't know for sure, but the look on the girl's face, the tear-stained cheeks, the fear in her eyes when Quistis first saw her…those never left her mind's eye. If it wasn't a dream, she'd probably find out soon enough. If it _was_, she hoped she'd be able to let it go before too long.


	7. Chapter 6: Fear and Frustration

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy is the property of Square Enix. If you didn't know that already, I hope I've been informative. If not…well…I like swords.

Chapter 6: Fear and Frustration

Rinoa stood in the living room, staring out the simulated window at the night sky hovering over the ocean. The flatscreen technology Garden had purchased from Esthar, similar to what they had once used to camouflage their capital city, proved to be quite useful in making a landlocked suite within Garden appear to have an open view of the academy's surroundings. They projected real-time holographic images of the view outside Garden, and helped the apartments seem less claustrophobic.

The Leonharts had returned to Garden earlier that day. While the family was relieved that the whole ordeal surrounding Lunatic Pandora was over, they'd been practically forced to sneak back in the cover of night to avoid the press that had camped just outside Garden's main gate. As Squall and Rinoa had expected, the top question of the day was, "Does Garden really have Sorceresses working for them?" Cid had been running interference for days, denying everything. It would have done little good had they caught on video a woman thought long-dead, even if she were one of the heroes that had saved the world from Ultimecia. As it was, she counted her blessings that there was no clear footage of her from the battle with the Weapon.

Quistis, Seifer, and their kids had stayed in Esthar, and Squall and Rinoa were thinking of going back after a few days, once Alexa and Jarod had gotten over the anxiety surrounding all that had happened. Then again, Rinoa would be just as satisfied staying at home with her family and not having to flee the press at all. The events of the past few days had truly frightened her, a way she hadn't felt in years. She had been reflecting on that fear as she stared into the holographic feed, at least until she felt the presence behind her.

"It's kind of late for you to be up, sweetie," she said, forcing her voice to be steady and quiet while she continued facing out the "window".

Alexa, who was poking her head around the corner, stepped out into the living room. She was in her pajamas, but showed no indication of having been sleeping "You know, sometimes it's kinda creepy how you do that."

Rinoa smiled and turned her head. "I heard you in the kitchen. Since when do you drink coffee this late at night?"

Alexa looked into her steaming mug and shrugged. "Since we started keeping decaf on hand." She walked over to Rinoa and looked out into the image of the ocean. The girl marveled at how well the flatscreen could simulate a three-dimensional image, complete with muffled ambient sounds of the waves lapping at the beach. Rinoa turned back to it as well, though she had long since lost interest in the view.

After they stood in silence for a while, Rinoa said, "Couldn't sleep?"

"Nope," Alexa said, taking a sip and then putting her cup on the "window" sill. "You?"

Rinoa never actually slept, but instead lay in bed and stilled her body while she let her mind wander through her own thoughts, or even across Garden in a type of out-of-body experience that was like a dream state to her. It was another of those "tricks" she'd learned to make herself act and feel more human. This night, however, she was too restless to even simulate sleep, and had left the bed as soon as Squall dozed off. "Me either."

They stood there in silence for another minute or two. Finally, Rinoa said, "How are you doing?"

Alexa shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Oh, before I forget," Rinoa said, heading toward the closet by the door, "Your dad and I talked about this today, on the way back." She opened the closet and the strongbox inside, and pulled out a coiled cord of leather with a barbed iron ball at the end. She carried it over to Alexa. "We're letting you have your whip back, as long as you treat it with respect this time. No more showing off or going into the Training Area alone."

Alexa remained looking at the ocean for a moment before finally turning to Rinoa. A tear was running down her cheek. Rinoa lay the whip down on a chair and embraced her daughter. Alexa wrapped her arms around her mother, and both hugged in silence.

"Lexie," Rinoa said after a moment.

"No," Alexa said. "I shouldn't be like this. I should be strong."

"Crying isn't being weak, sweetie," Rinoa said. "In fact, sometimes you have to be very strong to cry."

"I…I just…I was so scared that I'd lose you again. Both of you. I love you so much, Mommy."

"I've always known you do," Rinoa said. "And I love you too."

"But that's not all of it," Alexa continued. "I'm scared for me too. I mean, everything I can do, everything I know…Someday am I going to have to do things like you and Aunt Quisty did?"

Rinoa had no answer for that, not just because she didn't _know_ the answer, but also because she didn't know which answer would alleviate Alexa's fear.

"I know, I know, I'm 'special'," Alexa said, not waiting for the answer. "All the girls my age are still playing with dolls and trying to figure out long division, while I'm studying advanced calculus and tactical battle plans. But I can't go to all the advanced classes either, because they say I'm too young to fight real battles. What am I supposed to do, Mom?"

"I don't know, sweetie," Rinoa said. She kissed the top of Alexa's head. "Your dad and I have been doing our best, but there just really isn't any easy way. It breaks our heart to see you so frustrated and alone."

"Well, I'm not alone anymore. Jessa's a Sorceress too, isn't she?" Alexa asked. Rinoa said nothing. "That _is_ what I am, isn't it? A Sorceress? The dangerous, maniacal…"

"Stop it, Lexie," Rinoa said, pulling her away. She knelt down and looked straight into Alexa's eyes. "You are _you_. Not what other people say you are. _You_. Yes, you're different, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. You can go on to do great things, great good for the world."

"But what if I don't _want_ to do 'great good'? What if I just want to live a normal life, as a normal girl, and be able to get along with girls my own age?"

Rinoa put her hand on Alexa's cheek. "Sometimes we're called by a power greater than us to do things that other people can't or won't. We're given gifts that may seem like curses to us, but they turn out to be the greatest blessing we could have been given. If I hadn't become a Sorceress 11 years ago, we never could have defeated Ultimecia, and the world as we know it would have ended. You would never have been born. If I hadn't…passed my powers on to Aunt Quisty five years ago, we wouldn't have been able to stop that monster in Esthar. We all would have died there, and the monster would've eventually come after you."

"I know," Alexa said, wiping tears away. She pulled away from her mother and flopped onto the couch, pulling her knees to her chest and rocking slightly. "But it's so _scary_. I mean, I remember having visions when I was younger. I saw people like Ultimecia, Adel, Edea, and everything they did. I saw what they did to you, and how they almost killed you so many times. What if that happens to me? I don't want to be anyone's puppet. I don't want to be the one that goes crazy and tries to kill everyone, either!"

Alexa's choice of words, and memories they dredged up, stung Rinoa straight to her core but she could not deny that the girl's fears were justified. She sat down next to her daughter and put her arms around her again. "Your dad and I will do our best to protect you for as long as we can. Someday, though, you'll find a Knight. Someone you will love with all your heart and will trust to keep you safe. And he'll be there to keep your mind level, so you won't become like Adel or Ultimecia. You _won't_ become like them. You won't lose your humanity. I promise you that."

"Did Adel or Ultimecia have someone that promised that too?"

Rinoa shook her head. "I don't know. I don't think so, from what I remembered about them. But I know you, and I know that you are a good person at heart, always were, always will be."

Alexa shook her head. "I wish I could believe it. Sometimes I don't feel like a good person."

Rinoa kissed Alexa's temple. "I believe you're a good person. I hope you can trust me on that someday."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Mom," Alexa said, "I'm just afraid. I can't be _not_ afraid."

"I don't know if you'll believe it, but it's good that you're afraid," Rinoa said. "That means you'll think twice about using your powers for things you don't really have to, and that it'll be harder for them to corrupt you."

Alexa closed her eyes. "Really?"

"Promise."

Alexa sighed. "What was my brother like?"

Rinoa blinked at the sudden change of subject. "Brother? You mean Jett?" Alexa nodded. "I don't know," Rinoa said, slowly releasing the embrace and sliding into a sitting position beside Alexa. "He died before he was born. I never got a chance to know him." The old pain of losing her son crept up her throat.

"Did you talk to him when you were pregnant, like you did with me?"

"I…I tried," Rinoa said. "He didn't talk back, though. I don't think he had that kind of power, like you did. The power for our minds to touch, I mean. I wish…I wish I could have, though."

Alexa nodded again. "Me too. It wasn't fair for you to have to go through all that pain. Accident or not, I hope whoever was responsible for it got what they deserved for it."

"Lexie, I don't really like talking about that," Rinoa said. "It's…it's just…hard, still. But the people responsible were punished."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad," Alexa said. "I just…need to shut up." She then yawned. "I'm getting kinda tired, anyway. Think I'm going to back bed. Hope we didn't wake Dad up."

Rinoa chuckled a little. "The medicine Doctor Kadowaki gave your dad for his…well, condition…has something in it that helps him sleep. I think he'll be out for the rest of the night."

Alexa laughed, and rubbed away a few more tears. "Good." She stood slowly and walked over to the chair on which her whip lay. She ran her finger across the slightly scuffed braided leather, and then finally scooped it up, making sure to keep the barbed end from catching on the chair's fabric. "Thanks. I promise I'll be better with it from now on. G'night, Mom." She walked toward the bedroom hall.

"Good night, sweetie," Rinoa said. She watched Alexa leave, and then noticed the girl's coffee cup still on the windowsill. She got up, took the cup, and looked back out into the ocean. She sipped the coffee and almost immediately spit it back out into the cup. It was extremely sweet, and had what tasted like chocolate in it as well. A _lot_ of chocolate. Despite her pensive mood, she smiled.

_Maybe she still has a bit of childhood left in her._

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis yanked her glasses off her face, tossed them onto the desk, and rubbed her eyes. She had been poring over volume after volume of material related to Odine's research on Sorceresses, but even after 10 straight hours had come no closer to finding her answers. Her brain was now turning into putty, and she just couldn't concentrate anymore. As far as she had found so far, she was the only Sorceress to experience anything like what she and Rinoa had done to defeat the Weapon. The possibility that that was the case was quite disconcerting to her.

She licked her lips to bring some moisture back to them. One particular "symptom" she'd found of her joining with Rinoa was that, afterward, all her battle wounds had healed. Her tongue didn't even have residual sores, despite the fact that she'd been sure that she bit through it when the Weapon hit them with its ultimate spell. She only wished that healing had extended to everyone else, and the fact that it didn't only added to her frustration and anguish. Seifer's forehead wound had closed after some more magical and medical treatment, although he now had a few more scars to add to his existing ones; one in particular was from a gash that intersected his existing facial scar at a right angle, creating a sort of lopsided cross. Like his previous scar it came dangerously close to one of his eyes, actually crossing over it onto his cheek, but it had not been deep enough to actually injure his eye.

She shook her head. She had to get out of here. Her mind was wandering too much, and she'd already spent too much time away from her family. She needed a nap, but after that she really wanted to be with Seifer and the kids. They'd been through so much, and she hated being away from them like this. The problem was that she was just far too restless in their suite at the Presidential Residence, so anxious was she about her work. She was starting to wonder if work was becoming her life, with her family becoming a hobby. _No, I won't let that happen,_ she told herself for the third time, gathering up her glasses and a small stack of reading material. _All the answers in the world won't mean anything if I lose my family finding them._

After she had played her part in saving all of Esthar from the rampaging Weapon, Laguna had given her carte blanche access to the Research Facility and most of its library. He had promised her that the only areas she could not access contained vital national security secrets, which only he and a handful of others could access anyway, and that held no information related to her research whatsoever. While her instincts told her to disbelieve him, she had forced herself to trust Laguna, to believe that he wanted nothing more than to help her and would not steer her in the wrong direction. Her experiences with the man, both in the present and decades earlier, had assured her that he was incapable of lying.

Besides, he had given her unprecedented access to everything else, of which she was already making full use. One particular service, the direct aircar tunnel to the Presidential Residence, was her next destination. Once she had everything either in her shoulder bag or cradled in her arm, she headed for the main exit. Once she reached it, she stopped at the guard desk. "Could you buzz me out, please?"

The Esthar soldier who had been sitting at the guard desk stood. "Excuse me, ma'am? You can't take those out of the facility," the guard said, tilting his head toward the books and papers she held.

"I have full access to this facility and to all materials in sections C through E." She reached into her shirt pocket with her free hand and pulled out a slip of paper carrying the Esthar Presidential Seal and Laguna Loire's signature. She placed it on the desk in front of the guard.

The guard examined the paper. "I'm…sorry, I'm going to have to call this in."

Quistis rolled her eyes. "You already did that when I came in this morning."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I wasn't on duty until seventeen-hundred hours this afternoon." He slid the paper toward him and pressed a button on his desk. "Lieutenant, I have a…" he looked up at Quistis.

Quistis sighed. "Quistis Almasy."

"…Quistis Almasy here with paperwork apparently signed by the President. It gives her full access to sections C through E, including authorization to remove material from those sections to the Presidential Residence. Is that correct?"

"_Yes, Private, it is correct. Don't detain Ms. Almasy any longer; her work is vital to national security."_

_Vital to national security?_ she thought. _Either Laguna exaggerated so they wouldn't bother me, or I'm really not the only one this work is important to._ Either way, though, she was growing increasingly restless to get out of here and back to her family.

"Yes, sir." The guard pressed another button on his desk, and the door in front of Quistis buzzed. "Go ahead, ma'am, and sorry for the delay." He slid the paper back to her

She snatched it up and slipped it into one of the books. _Pay more attention to your orders next time, pinhead_, she thought, reaching for the door handle. Then, she stopped. _"Pinhead"? Where did that come from? He's just doing his job. I shouldn't be…_

"Ma'am? Is something wrong?"

Quistis shook her head, realizing she hadn't opened the door and was instead staring at the guard. "Um, no, it's okay. I'm just tired is all." She pulled the door open and walked out. She headed toward the elevator to the aircar station, pressed the button, and entered as soon as the door opened. After she pressed the button for her destination, she leaned against the wall.

_I must be too strung out. I shouldn't have dove into my work so quickly. I should have taken time off to be with Seifer and the kids. What the hell's wrong with me? I'm sure I could have talked Doctor Kadowaki into giving me some kind of sedative if I couldn't relax._

When the elevator stopped she exited it, and headed immediately for the aircar sitting before her. She sat down on the circular padded vehicle and tapped one of its two destination buttons, the one that said, "**Pres. Res.**" The seat had no backing, which she found to be an odd if efficient design. Still, the car had its own gravity generator, so she felt almost none of the inertia as the car rocketed toward its destination through the underground tunnel.

When she arrived, she wasted no time in taking the next elevator to the guest suite level. Arriving on her floor, she continued her almost automatic pace toward the Beatrix suite, one of the larger ones, where she, Seifer, and the kids had been put up for their stay.

When she opened the door, she heard the clinking of glass from the kitchenette, and then running water. She poked her head around the corner into the kitchenette to see Seifer drinking down an entire glass of water in one gulp.

"Hi Seifer," she said. "Sorry I was gone so long."

"It's okay," Seifer said, coughing few times as he put the glass down in the sink. "The kids are busy playing in their rooms. Laguna requisitioned a bunch of new toys for them. I think they're going to end up spoiled by the time we leave. Whatcha got there?"

Quistis looked down into her hand. "Just some homework. Stuff I need to look over again before I forget."

"Homework?" Seifer asked. He walked over to her and took the papers and notebooks from her, placing them on the counter. "You know, you should be taking it easy. You haven't even been out of the hospital for two full days." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in toward him. He kissed her fully on the lips.

She allowed the kiss with pleasure, allowing it to soothe away much of the stress she'd placed on herself. For a moment, though, she tasted a little something in his kiss that she didn't much expect. _Is that…liquor? Why were you trying to hide it?_ "I know, I'm sorry," she replied, choosing to ignore Seifer's alcohol breath. "I'm going to go say hi to the kids and go to bed. I promise, tomorrow I'm all yours."

"You eat anything yet?"

Quistis shrugged. "I had something earlier, but I just haven't been all that hungry."

"Quisty, you need to eat. Let me call the cooking staff, they can probably whip up something nice."

Quistis shook her head. "No, it's okay."

"Quisty…"

"I said it's ok_ay_!"

Seifer released the embrace and stared at her, his eyes wide and brow furrowed. "Okay, jeez, sorry. Don't need to jump down my throat."

Quistis shook her head again and raised her hands palms out. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I'm just tired. My eyes hurt, my feet hurt; I just want to get some sleep."

"Okay," Seifer said. "If you change your mind, I can make you something."

Quistis smiled. "The last time you cooked something you set off Garden's fire alarms."

Seifer shrugged. "Well, I didn't know you weren't supposed to cook bacon 'till it turned black."

Quistis laughed, and then sighed. "Thanks for the offer, sweetheart, I really do appreciate it." She walked over to the front door, slipped off her shoes, and walked back to the kitchenette. "I'll be okay. I promise I'll be spending more time with you and the kids before we go back home. There are just…things I have to figure out."

Seifer nodded without a word. Quistis trod up to him in her stocking feet, trying to not slip on the smooth marble floor of the kitchenette, and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Good night, sweetie. Try not to get too used to having room service. This is the only place in the world that it's free."

"Dunno, a man could get used to it _real _easy."

She smiled and headed toward the kids' bedrooms. Seifer watched as she entered the first one. Once he heard the cry of, "Mommy!" he absently reached toward a slightly ajar cupboard. Just as his hand had reached the inside, he pulled it back and turned to look inside. He could just barely see the label on a bottle through the opened door. He clenched his hand into a loose fist, and then pushed the cupboard door the rest of the way closed. _That's it for tonight,_ he thought. Instead, he looked over at a paper entitled "**Presidential Residence Guest Meal Selection, April 29, 3032**". He hoped there was something on there that wasn't too hoi-polloi or exotic for his tastes. And he knew the kids would probably want nothing but hot dogs, hamburgers, or pizza.

"Maybe they have a hot-dog-hamburger pizza," he muttered as he perused the list.

VVVVVVVVVV

"Quistis!"

Quistis felt consciousness return to her, and as it did, the peaceful darkness was broken by wisps of white light. She was drawn to it, almost out of her own control.

"Quistis Almasy!"

_It wasn't a dream…_

Understanding washed over her like a flood. She'd been in the Crossroad while in her coma. She'd met…someone…there. She looked over herself and saw that instead of a silken robe, as she half expected, she was clad in her casual outfit of a white blouse, blue slacks, and loafers.

"Quistis! Please come back! I'm scared!"

"I'm coming!" Quistis replied, once again following the voice. _Aria. Her name was Aria._ "I'm coming, Aria! I'm almost there."

"Please hurry!"

As she neared the ground she saw the girl that she'd met the other day. She was sitting on the ground, her knees clutched to her chest in a fetal position. Quistis touched down, noting this time that the ground did not seem to give nor, when she walked, tried to grab hold of her. She reached Aria and knelt down. The girl immediately flung herself onto the elder woman.

"Oh Quistis! I was afraid you couldn't hear me!"

"I heard you, Aria," Quistis said. "I'm here."

"Thank you," Aria said. "I was s-scared."

"Did the…evil stuff try to take you again?"

"No," Aria said. "But I was scared it would."

Quistis ran a hand through Aria's long red hair. "Do you still have the earring I gave you?"

"Uh huh," Aria said. She opened a clenched fist to show her the small gold stud.

"If you get scared, I want you to grab it tightly and think of the person you love the most. Think about how much you love them, and I promise the evil stuff won't get you." Quistis hoped it wasn't a lie, but if it could calm Aria down at least long enough for her to figure out what was going on, it would work well enough.

"I…I love…Samantha, but when I think about her it makes me sad. And…I love you, Quistis."

Quistis squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her embrace with the girl. "I love you too, Aria."

Aria smiled after a moment and hummed. "Thank you, Quistis. I feel better now."

They held each other for a moment, and then Quistis slowly separated the hug. She sat cross-legged on the ground in front of Aria and took the girl's hands. They were like ice, but warmed the longer she clasped them in hers. "Aria, can we talk about some things?"

Aria tilted her head. "Uh, okay."

"What year is it?"

Aria furrowed her brow. "I don't know anymore. It's been so long…"

"I mean, what year was it the last time you knew what year it was?"

"I…" Aria looked off into the distance. "I don't know. I think it was 29-something. I can't remember."

Quistis squeezed her hands. "It's okay, sweetie. I want to try to find Samantha for you."

Aria's eyes brightened as she shot her gaze back toward her. "Really?"

Quistis nodded. "I…when a Sorceress…" She took a breath and tried again, "Do you know how being a Sorceress works?"

Aria tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"You know that Sorceresses pass their powers on, and the person that receives those powers becomes a Sorceress, right?"

Aria nodded. "Uh huh."

"A Sorceress doesn't just pass on power. She also passes on memories. Not just her own, but those she got from the Sorceress before her. Do you understand?"

"I…think so," Aria said.

"Basically, every Sorceress has at least little pieces of the memories of every Sorceress before her."

"Okay," Aria said, her voice drawn out in confusion.

Quistis sighed and said, "I've looked into the memories I inherited from…the Sorceress before me…and I couldn't find anyone named Samantha."

Aria's mouth dropped open. "No, she was a Sorceress, she had to be!"

"How do you know?" Quistis asked.

"Because I passed my powers on to her."

Quistis couldn't say she was surprised, and had in fact been leading up to the question that would give that answer. "You were a Sorceress?" Aria nodded. Quistis started to ask another question and then stopped. She could tell Aria was becoming uncomfortable with these queries, so decided to take a different route. "That shirt is very pretty. Is that a moogle?"

Aria looked down at it. "Uh huh. His name's Kushu."

_Kushu the Moogle_. Quistis remembered the cartoons quite well. She had several video discs of old and new Kushu cartoons that Jessa in particular liked to watch. The Kushu cartoons in which he was drawn in the older style on Aria's nightshirt were made between 2974 and 2989, before the studio changed hands and hired all new animators. Quistis smiled. Sometimes her ability to retain trivial knowledge amazed even herself.

"Did you like Kushu cartoons?"

"Yeah, he was so funny. I didn't like Tommy Tonberry, though. He was kind of stupid."

Tommy Tonberry was Kushu's "partner in crime", portrayed as slow, unintelligent, and a screw-up. He was popular as a slapstick character, but it made sense to Quistis that Aria, being a Sorceress with the requisite advanced intellect, would have felt more affinity toward the smarter, quicker Kushu. "Where did you get this shirt?" Quistis asked. "It's very pretty."

"Mommy got it for me before she…" Aria broke off.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry…"

"No," Aria interrupted. "It's okay. Mommy passed away a long time ago, when I was a little girl. She used to take me and Samantha to the movies to see Kushu all the time."

Quistis tilted her head. "That shirt looks awfully big for you to have gotten it as a little girl."

Aria hung her head slightly. "It was always my favorite. I wore it even when it was too small and I had to wear pants with it. When I came here, I just…had it on. And it was big again, like it was when I first got it."

Quistis nodded. The Crossroad was not a physical plane, and it made sense that one's appearance there could be controlled by their will.

Another thought occurred to her at that moment. If Aria was a little girl when the old Kushu cartoons were still new, then she and Samantha gained their powers around the time of Adel's rise to power, when she hunted down and killed nearly all remaining Sorceresses to take their powers into herself. Could Aria, and maybe even Samantha, have been victims of Adel's crusade? That would explain why Quistis could not find Samantha in her memories; Samantha could have been overshadowed by Adel's fierce personality.

Either that, or Samantha was still alive.

"Quistis? Are you okay?"

Quistis nodded. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"What were you thinking about?"

Quistis shrugged. "I was just…remembering. I was here in the Crossroad before. Years ago, when I was first a Sorceress."

"You were? Did you die?" Aria asked.

Quistis shook her head. "No. My friend, my closest friend, was a Sorceress, and I was with her when she died. When it happened we came here, and then she gave me her powers. That was when I became a Sorceress."

Aria blinked. "Just like…me and Samantha."

Quistis squeezed Aria's hands again and leaned in toward her. "Aria, can we talk about you and Samantha a little bit? I understand if you don't want to, but if you can help…I want to try to find her for you."

"You can find Samantha?" Aria asked, her face brightening considerably.

Quistis nodded. "I know somebody who knows a lot about Sorceresses, even more than I do. He helped me learn about our history, and I think he can help me find her." _Alive or dead_, Quistis thought but refrained from saying.

"Okay," Aria said. "Um, Samantha was my older sister, two years older. My daddy disappeared before I was born, so it was just me, Samantha, and Mommy. When Mommy died, Samantha took care of me. She helped me when I got my powers."

"How did you get your powers?" Quistis asked.

"I…we…" Aria stuttered. She took a deep breath, and continued, "We were selling flowers that we grew in our garden. A woman came up and bought a whole bunch of them. She paid us enough to get food for a _month_! She was such a nice lady. But then…then…she didn't look both ways when she crossed the street…and…"

Quistis gasped. "Oh, no…"

Aria nodded. "We ran over to try and help her, but her…she was hurt really bad. I touched her face and tried to talk to her, but I felt like I got hit with lightning. The next thing I knew I was at home in bed, and Samantha was with me. I felt different, though. Lots of stuff in my head that wasn't familiar, you know?"

Quistis nodded. "I know exactly…"

"After that," Aria interrupted as if Quistis had not spoken, "I started seeing things different. I was stronger. I could even make things happen by just thinking about it." She withdrew her hands and hugged herself. "Me and Samantha had to leave town, because people were afraid of us. Nobody would buy flowers from us anymore, and they broke the windows in our house at night."

"Where did you live then, if you don't mind my asking?" Quistis asked.

"Balamb," Aria said. "Where _you're_ from, right?"

Quistis brought her hands to her mouth. _Balamb!_ She'd never heard of any Sorceresses living there, at least in recent history. "Aria, I…I didn't live there when…"

"It's okay, I know," Aria said. "I remember all the faces of the people that lived there, and I don't remember yours."

Quistis nodded, choosing not to say that all that had probably happened before she was born. She had indeed lived in Balamb for a time after she was adopted by the Trepes. When they adopted her they changed her last name from Aurien to Trepe, but not long afterward they essentially disowned her and sent her to live at Balamb Garden. It was very possible that the Trepes, or their progenitors, had been among those who persecuted Aria and Samantha. Quistis was now very glad she'd abandoned that family name when she got married, even if, at that time, she didn't remember her adoptive parents themselves.

"So, where did you go?" Quistis asked.

"We took all our money and bought two train tickets to Galbadia City. We sold everything we had except for the clothes we were wearing. I had to sell my favorite nightshirt…" Aria sighed. "But we got by. There was a hostel there that took us in. We started making toy jewelry, and sold it for money to eat. Things went okay for a while until…" She broke off and hugged herself more tightly.

Quistis placed her hands on Aria's shoulders. "What happened, sweetie?"

Aria sighed again. "Some guy in a car almost ran over Samantha. Just like the nice lady in Balamb. I…I stopped him, though. I used my powers to…to throw his car in the air…before it hit her. It flew into a building, but Samantha was safe. That was when they found out about what I was. People were yelling at us, screaming, like, 'Witch!' and 'Killer!' It was so scary!" She continued squeezing herself and rocked more rapidly.

Quistis drew Aria into another hug, and Aria grasped her tightly. The girl continued, "We got back to the hostel, but they must've heard what happened and wouldn't let us back in. We were all alone and the people just kept coming…and something hit me in the face, and the next thing I knew I was here. Samantha was with me too. I was scared we were dead, but Samantha pulled away. There was a light trying to pull on me, too. We held on so tight…We tried not to let go, but something just kept pulling her and she was gone. The light pulling me went away, and I was alone. I couldn't go anywhere but here."

"Oh, sweetie," Quistis said, tears dampening her cheeks. The tears were not only for the pain Aria had gone through, but also of the renewed visualization of what must have happened to Rinoa after her death. "I'm so, so sorry. What those people did to you was so wrong…"

"I saw Samantha again after that," Aria said. "I thought she was dead, that they killed her too, but she said she got away. She got my powers and she was able to run away and hide. She said she was scared, but she'd come see me as much as she could."

"Quisty. Hey Quisty, wake up!"

Quistis took in a breath and felt herself slipping again. The voice sounded like Seifer's, echoing in the emptiness.

"Who's that?" Aria asked. "Who's there?" she shouted into the ether.

"My husband, Seifer," Quistis said. "He's trying to wake me up."

"Do you…have to go again?"

Quistis nodded. "I promise I'll come back again soon, sweetie. And I'm going to do everything I can to find Samantha, I promise that too."

Aria whined for a second, then finally nodded. "Okay. Please don't be gone long, 'kay?"

Quistis passed through Aria's arms and began floating upward. Her vision of the Crossroad was dimming. "I won't. Remember, call me if you need me."

"I will, Quistis. I love you!"

"I love you too, Aria."

Quistis passed into a layer of darkness, and then a rush of feeling surrounded her. She felt a hand shaking her shoulder. "Quisty, wake up, please! I'm gonna call the doctor, you'll be okay."

"Huh? Wha…?" she said.

"Quisty? Are you awake?"

She blinked, the light causing her eyes to ache. "Yeah, I'm…fine. What time is it?"

"Thirteen hundred. You've been sleeping for over fifteen hours," Seifer said. She opened her eyes again and saw him kneeling next to the bed. "I was afraid you slipped back into the coma."

Quistis smiled and patted his hand. "I'm okay. Just really sleepy, that's all."

Seifer nodded and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad that's all. You…going back to sleep, or getting up?"

She indeed could have slept, but didn't want to. She had familial obligations, and she'd promised them she'd spend time with them today. And yet, despite her awakening and being torn away from her new friend, she was quite cheerful and ready for the new day. She had found an answer. Not a complete one, but she finally had somewhere to start. A Sorceress, possibly alive, named Samantha Zephyr. "Nope. Let me just take a shower. Think about what you want to do today."

"_You_ seem to be in a much better mood today," Seifer said.

Quistis shrugged and smiled, stretching her arms over her head. "I just feel good. I guess I needed the sleep."

"Well," Seifer said, "if you're not in a real hurry to get out of bed, I can think of one thing we can do." He caressed her arm with one hand and slid the other underneath her covers. He slipped off one of her socks and began caressing her bare foot.

"You behave, Mister." she said, her skin starting to tingle. Seifer, despite his lack of tact, had always had a magic touch. She tried to kick his hand away, but he kept it there, lightly tickling her sole.

"I'm behaving," he said.

She pressed a finger to his lips. "Is this all you think of when you think I'm sick?"

Seifer shook his head and kissed her finger. "Nope, only when I find out that you're well."

Quistis giggled. "Later, sexy man. I need to wash up, and I think we should all spend some time together first. I owe the kids some time." She tilted her head at his disappointed expression. "Don't worry, we'll do enough so they'll want to go to bed early. Then, well, we'll see what happens."

"Promise? Cross your heart and hope to die?"

Quistis's smile faded as Aria, saying the exact same thing, popped into her consciousness. Still she nodded. "Yes. Shower first, though. Let me go."

Seifer thought for a second, then said, "No."

"Let me go. I bite."

"I know," Seifer said with a wink. "You're not convincing me to stop here, you know."

"Let me go or I'll never bite again," Quistis said, raising her eyebrow.

Seifer sighed in defeat, and withdrew his hand. "Fine, but you can't hold me off forever."

Quistis swung her legs toward Seifer, ran the top of her foot down his arm, and then stood and headed toward the bathroom. She turned her head to the side and looked back at him, flipping her slightly disheveled hair as she did so. "I'm counting on that, Major."

VVVVVVVVVV

Like the night before, Rinoa stood staring out at the false ocean. Like the night before, she was too preoccupied to even sleep a wink. Her worries tonight were not just for herself, though. She was worried for her family. For her marriage. She and Squall had spoken very little over the past few days, with Squall growing increasingly distant over that time. The previous day he had hardly said a word to her, and he had kept his mind almost completely closed.

She had never been more tempted to force herself into his mind to try to determine what he was hiding, but had managed to stop herself. If she couldn't trust her husband to eventually come around, who could she?

Still, she did detect wafts of emotion here and there. Exhaustion and irritation were there, neither of which surprised her. The most prevalent one she had detected, though, the one that worried her the most, was fear. The fear seemed to intensify the longer he was near her.

She was feeling that fear right now. "How long have you been up?" she asked without turning around.

"A while," Squall said.

"Did you take your pills?"

"Nope," Squall replied. She heard him sip from a cup, and smelled the freshly-brewed coffee.

Rinoa sighed. He was awake and standing here for a reason, and she was pretty sure it was to talk with her. Why the hell couldn't he just talk, then? Sometimes she just couldn't understand men, even ones with whom she shared a telepathic link. "So, is there a reason you're standing there staring at me?"

"Not really."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"I don't know."

She sighed more loudly this time and turned around. Squall was indeed standing there, in a T-shirt and sweatpants. His hair was tousled, as if he had been in bed for at least a short time. He was turning a steaming mug in his calloused hands. "Why won't you talk to me?" she said.

Squall shrugged. "I don't…"

"Stop. You _know_. I know you better than that. Just tell me for God's sake."

Squall sighed. "I don't want to hurt you." As soon as he said it, he wished he could take it back.

Rinoa's heart sank to her knees. That was a phrase nobody ever wanted to hear from their lover, because it usually hurt even more than what the person saying it thought _would _be hurtful. Still, she pursed her lips and said, "Hurt me, if that's what you have to do."

Squall shook his head. "It's not…I don't…I can't think how to say it."

"Don't think about it, just say it."

"I'm afraid. Okay? I'm scared to death."

She opened her mouth to reply, but found no words. She closed it again and lowered her head. When she looked back up, Squall set his cup down on an end table and she could tell that he was trembling. The cup made a slight rattle as it tapped the wood when he set it down. "Scared of me," she said. It wasn't a question.

She thought he would adamantly deny it, assuring her that he could never fear her, but found instead that he tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. "Maybe that's part of it," he said.

Rinoa was surprisingly relieved to hear his honesty, even if it worried her more than before. "So what's the rest of it?"

He lowered his head as if in shame. "You don't…"

"_Tell me_," she said.

Squall sighed. "I knew from the moment we met that you were special. I know I didn't show it, but I felt it. And I was afraid of you then. Not really _of_ you, but of what you did to _me_. You touched a part of me I didn't want touched, and what scared me was that I liked it. I liked _you_, and I didn't like _anybody_. Even me."

He shook his head and sat down in the chair next to the table. Despite her brimming anger, Rinoa knelt before him and took his hands. He didn't fight her. His hands were cold and shaking a little. Still, he kept his eyes glued to the floor. "When you became a Sorceress, I was still scared. Plus, I was scared for what might have happened to you, and what it meant for me. I let them take you to the Memorial because I was scared. It took everyone talking me out of that fear for me to build up the courage to get you out of there.

"When you…" he sighed again, "…died, I was scared even more. I was scared to live, scared to die. Scared that I couldn't be a good parent all by myself, scared of the world Lexie was going to grow up in. When you came back, I was scared because, for the first time, somebody other than an Adel or Ultimecia was using such strong power on their own. Scared what would happen to Quistis. Scared what she could turn you into, if it all went to her head."

He took one hand away and put it to his forehead. "Then I saw the real power you and Quistis had, and I was scared that what I worried about before was coming true. I was afraid I failed as your Knight."

"But you didn't!" Rinoa said. She put a hand under his chin and lifted his head up. He resisted looking at her, but finally gave in. She could see the tears beginning to form in his gray eyes. "Squall, everything's fine. I'm fine, Quistis is fine. We didn't turn evil."

Squall shook his head. "That's not what I'm really afraid of, it's…I'm afraid of what you and Quistis did, what you can do…what that means for you. And for Lexie."

"You think I'm not?" she asked, throwing her free hand in the air. "Do you think I haven't spent every moment since then being afraid of what I've become, of what I can do?"

"I didn't say you weren't," Squall said. "I'm just…" He shook his head, sighed, and dropped his gaze to the floor again. "I'm just talking too much."

Rinoa looked at him for a moment, then sat down on the floor at his feet. She took his hand from his face and lifted it. She saw the first tear running down his cheek.

"I…I can't lose you again," he said, squeezing his eyes shut and ejecting more tears. "That's what I'm scared of the most. Even if you don't die, I'm afraid something will take you from me. From us." He crossed his arms and pulled them in so tight they shook. "I'm not strong anymore. I'm not. I'm just scared. That's it. That's what I am now. Just scared."

Rinoa lifted herself into an embrace with him, her own tears finally drawn out of her at the sight of her Knight's long-standing emotional walls collapsing into rubble. "Squall, Squall…" she said, unable to find any words of significance.

"Please don't leave me again, Rin," he whispered through quiet sobs. "I need you too much. I'll never _not_ need you. Just tell me, say you won't leave again. I'll believe you."

"I…I promise…I'll do my best," she said through her own sobs. "But you don't need to be afraid by yourself anymore." She put her hands to his face and kissed his lips.

Squall hesitated for a second, then let the kiss wash over him. As he did so, he finally released the last mental blocks he had recently erected between himself and Rinoa. She felt it and touched her mind to his. Their emotions, now running freely, massaged each other's, and then swirled into each other, all their hopes, their dreams, their fears and worries, everything becoming as one.

So complete had their connection become that neither was sure who initiated the second kiss, but both relished it. It was rough and fierce, and both gave their bodies fully into it. Squall gripped Rinoa's thighs and squeezed, pulling her even closer to him. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, completing the connection. Then, as Rinoa released all constraints on her magic, they floated together out of the chair. Squall lowered his legs and tapped his feet against the floor, instinctively guiding them in the direction of the bedroom. They drifted past the kitchen, down the bedroom hall, and into the room they had shared for over eight years. As soon as they entered, the door closed with some invisible magical assistance.

Just as their minds had become one that night, so did their bodies, in desperate and passionate lovemaking. Sensations and emotions flowed across their mental link like a pair of raging rivers starting in opposite directions, but spinning into each other to form a lake of ardor. For the first time in a long time, they were fully in and of each other.

They made love like this twice and then slept in each other's arms, sharing each other's dreams with a peace and comfort neither had felt in a long time.

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis rubbed her temple. She'd tried every spelling she could of the name, but there was nothing in the database for anyone with the last name Zephyr, or the first names Aria or Samantha. Nothing cross-referenced to Balamb either, at least before the Second Sorceress War. She sighed and closed the laptop's screen. She'd have to check the hardcopies, and that was going to be a lot of work, especially on top of the fact that she was still trying to find information on her and Rinoa's merging. She'd discovered early on that information on Lunatic Pandora had been locked up in Sections A and B, the only parts of the Research Facility to which she did not have access, so she'd been forced to give up on that subject for now.

She was starting to realize that, at this point, she would need to make copies of practically everything related to both subjects, everything they'd let her copy anyway, and look them over when they get back to Balamb. The kids were already starting to get a little antsy and homesick; this was the first time they'd been away from Garden for more than a day, and despite the interesting things they got to see in Esthar City and all the new toys Laguna had for them, they were starting to long for their own rooms and their own beds.

She wanted that too, at least a little. A couple days earlier she was so sure she had to stay, but now she just felt like she was in everyone's way, even her own. She just longed for familiar surroundings. Something about Esthar was making her tense and uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what it was, but she was starting to think that the sooner she left, the better she'd feel.

She got up from the table and walked over to the kitchenette. The pot of coffee she'd made was still about half full. She yawned and poured herself another cup.

"You're up early."

She gasped and spilled some coffee on the counter. Luckily she just missed her hand. She put the pot and cup down and turned to see Seifer in his pajamas, standing and watching her.

She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

"You okay? You're kinda jumpy."

Quistis sighed and finished pouring her cup. As she stirred in some cream and sugar, she said, "Considering everything that's happened lately, can you blame me?"

"Nope," Seifer said. He walked over to the counter next to her and put his hands around her waist. "Guess I am too. Maybe I just can't get used to the idea of being on vacation. Only been a few days, though." He opened a cupboard and pulled out a mug. "Got another cup worth in there?"

"I think so," Quistis said. She poured the rest of the pot into Seifer's cup, and then put the pot into the sink and ran some water into it.

Seifer took a gulp of his coffee straight. "Damn four-cup coffeepots," he said. "At least it's the good stuff."

Quistis smiled. "I'm sorry I got up so soon, I just had some things on my mind I had to check out."

"I see," Seifer said, and he walked over to the laptop. He flipped open the display and examined it.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Quistis asked.

"Making sure you're not 'checking out' online porn or anything," Seifer said.

"Do you honestly think I'd look at porn at all, much less get up at four in the morning to do it?"

Seifer shrugged. "They always say it's the people you least suspect."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, dear," Quistis said, "but that's all work there."

Seifer nodded. "So, if you don't mind my asking, just how much vacationing are you really planning to do for the next couple weeks? Or will it just be work away from home, with days like yesterday being the exception?"

Quistis sighed. "Seifer, please. It'd be one thing if everything that happened to me a few days ago didn't. But it did, and need to know how and why. I was hoping you'd support me on this."

"I do, Quisty, I do," Seifer said. "It's just that…you work yourself so hard all the time when you're _not_ in the middle of a big investigation. You just woke up from a coma the other day, but you didn't even skip a beat. When will you let yourself rest?"

"Seifer, I know it's easy for you to just leave your work behind. Your work, your team is back at Balamb. When you're here, someone else is in charge of them. I'm the only one who can do this work, and wherever I am, the work is still there with me."

"Why?" Seifer asked. "Why only you?"

Quistis walked up to him. "Because nobody else has what's in my head, that's why. Nobody else hears the echoes, sees the auras, has all the clues mixed up in some conglomeration of a collective memory. _I_ have them. And I'm the only one that can sort it out and make sense of it. You just…you can't understand what I have to deal with. Nobody can."

"Why?" he asked again. "Why are you the only one? Why do you find it so hard to ask for help?"

"Because I'm scared!"

They stood there in silence, staring at each other. Finally, Quistis continued, "I'm scared that something's going to happen to you or the kids because of me. I'm scared that because of all that crap that's been on the news this week we're going to spend the rest of our lives in hiding. I'm scared because I don't know what I could become if something like that monster ever happens again. I'm scared…that I'll hurt everyone…like…" She closed her eyes and turned away.

Seifer slowly put his hands around her waist, but she pulled away. "No, please don't. Just…let me be."

Seifer watched her for a moment, and then walked silently past her and back into the bedroom. Quistis looked up to see his back. "Seifer, I'm sorry…" Seifer closed the door behind him before she could finish her apology, leaving her alone in the dimly lit room. She clutched her arms around herself. She suddenly felt cold.

Seifer leaned on the closed door. What Quistis had said was far more hurtful that she could have realized. _I'm your Knight. It's my job to keep you from _wanting_ to hurt the people you care about._ Her harboring those fears, and refusing for so long to tell him about them, felt like she was saying she didn't trust him, that he wasn't doing his job as her Knight.

He walked over to his side of the bed and opened the door of his nightstand. He slid aside a few things and pulled out a small bottle of "**Old Trabia Warrior, 80 Proof**" that he'd swiped from the nicely-stocked liquor cabinet in the kitchenette. He unscrewed the cap, poured some of the whiskey into it, and gulped it down. He gave it a second to settle, and then downed a second and a third capful before closing the bottle and returning it to its current home. He lay back down in bed and pulled the covers over his head. He hoped the whiskey would counteract the gulp of coffee and help him sleep again, if just for a few hours, or at least until the kids woke up.

He also hoped it would help keep the dreams away this time, since right now his only respite from them didn't seem to want him around.

As Seifer was doing this, Quistis fell into the chair before her computer and looked at the screen again. Her eyes wouldn't focus, though, and she finally leaned back in the chair to stare at the ceiling. At this moment, she was tempted to just close her eyes, to release her mind from her body, and go back to the Crossroad to see Aria.

Of all the friends she had, at this moment Aria seemed to be the only one she felt she could talk to. She wasn't sure why that was, but her gut said it was so. It seemed reasonable enough to her. She didn't have to worry about hurting the young girl. _Nobody_ could hurt her. She was already _dead_.

It worried Quistis when she realized that her best friends seemed to be the ones who had died.

She rubbed her temples once more and closed the laptop's lid. If she was going to work all alone, she might as well do it back at the Research Facility. She started gathering up her papers and glanced around for her shoes, her familial obligations slipping from her mind.

She was disgusted with herself, not just for hurting Seifer, but because she felt like she was running away from all of them by immersing herself in her work. Still, the work had to be done, and as she told Seifer, she was the only one who could do it.

She was the one to whom it all mattered most.


	8. Chapter 7: Answers

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8, etc. belongs to Square Enix, Etc. "Etc." is exactly like "Inc.", except that it's completely different. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Chapter 7: Answers

Papers and books were strewn about the desk. Quistis had spent the past hours flipping through thousands of pages of text, scanning for any instance of the names "Aria" and "Samantha", as well as every spelling she could think of for the name "Zephyr". As of yet, nothing had turned up.

"Dammit!" she said, smacking the table with her fist. "Where the hell _are_ you, Samantha?" She yanked off her glasses, tossed them onto the stack, and rubbed her aching eyes. There were more papers to go through, lots more, but with the mass amounts of data Odine had gathered, scattered about in scribbled notes and typed records, Quistis was afraid she could end up spending at least the same three decades searching through all of it that it had all taken to compile in the first place.

Her patience had worn thin, and she certainly did not have three decades to wait. She had come across whole areas where there should have been information, any kind of information, but much was missing. It almost seemed as if it had been intentionally removed. Quistis had her suspicions, but needed them confirmed.

She decided it was time to stop playing with his notes, and go for the source. As much as she disliked being around the man, she had to go speak to Odine. She pushed herself out of the chair with a grunt and marched toward the elevator. Once inside, she pressed the button for the top floor, on which Odine's labs were located, and where Odine himself was likely to be at this time of the day.

When the elevator arrived and she stepped out into the massive lab, she stopped cold. The room was filled with Esthar soldiers. Some scientists were there as well, but the soldiers had restrained them all, save one. Odine himself was putting up quite a fight.

"I do not care who zent you!" Odine shouted, shaking his fists at the three soldiers confronting him. "You vill not put me in irons!"

"Our orders are to detain _everyone_, Doctor," one of the soldiers said. "If you do not come quietly, we will be forced to incapacitate you."

"You vant to fight me? To fisticuffs? I vill mop ze floor vith you!"

"What's going on here?" Quistis asked.

Several of the soldiers turned to her. One of them, wearing what Quistis had learned were Captain's stripes, said, "Ms…Almasy, correct? We are shutting down this facility and taking everyone into custody."

"Let me go! Let me _go_!" Two soldiers had grabbed Odine, but the short, clownish man seemed quite adept at fighting them off. Finally one of them, whom Quistis could see was wearing a Junction Emulator, shouted, "Sleep!" White sparkles danced about Odine and his struggling ceased almost immediately. The soldiers caught him as his legs gave way and they dragged him toward a chair.

She glanced between the soldiers. "Am I under arrest too?" While she respected the law of the country in which she was a guest, she had done nothing to deserve arrest and was prepared to fight tooth and nail if they tried to subdue her. They would find her far more difficult to take down than with a simple Sleep spell.

"No, ma'am," the soldier said. "However, we must escort you out of the facility. As of right now, it is under lockdown."

Quistis crossed her arms, only slightly relieved that she would not be forced to fight for her freedom. "Under whose orders?"

"The President's, ma'am."

Quistis stared at him for a second, unable to believe what he had just told her. Then she said, "My work is vital to national security. I demand that you not interfere with it, or with Doctor Odine."

The soldier shook his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but you have no authority here." He cocked his head to the side. "Corporal, please escort Ms. Almasy to the exit."

Another soldier walked toward her, his weapon holstered for the moment. "Ma'am, this way." She saw no Junction Emulator on his blue and white armor, but from his aura she could tell he was different than most of the others. One of their cyborg soldiers, she remembered, physically and magically enhanced thanks much to Odine's own work. _Do they know about my powers?_

"If I'm being forced to leave, I need to go get my materials and computer first," she said. "They're back in Section D."

The Captain shook his head again. "I'm sorry, but all records are confiscated as of this moment. Your computer as well. It will be returned to you once the investigation has been completed."

Quistis's skin grew hot. She could not believe this was happening. It almost felt like a nightmare, as surreal as the situation was. The bionic Corporal reached out for her arm but she jerked it away as soon as he made contact. "Don't you touch me," she said to the soldier, who backed off a step. To the Captain she said, "I demand to speak to the President immediately."

"You will have to take that up with his staff, ma'am," the Captain said. "We're just following orders."

"Please, ma'am," the Corporal said. Quistis noticed one of his hands slipping into a hidden pocket on his armor and her senses immediately went on edge. She could practically smell the threat in his voice, as well as a pang of fear as his other hand had dropped to his sidearm. Someone had indeed warned them about her. Her confidence had been betrayed.

Quistis's insides quivered, but she stiffened and turned back toward the elevator. "I can find my own way out, thank you very much." She walked back to the elevator, her escort hot on her heels. She was less worried about the hand he had on his sidearm than the one he had in his pocket. Could he have been going for an anti-Sorceress weapon? An improved Odine bangle, perhaps? Ones that might actually work, unlike the trinkets Odine had marketed years earlier?

She would do nobody, least of all herself, any favors by having herself put into a military jail. She quietly and obediently allowed the Corporal to accompany her for the elevator ride, and then escort her to the Presidential Residence aircar. She said nothing as she sat down and the antigravity lift spirited her away from the soldier and toward her next destination.

Never before had betrayal stung this hard, not even when her Instructor license had been revoked. Not just to shut her out of the only place in the world where she could find her answers, but to actually tell people the secret she'd been trying for years to keep to herself, her family, and closest friends. This was far more personal than any other betrayal, and the very least owed to her was an explanation.

VVVVVVVVVV

As soon as Quistis arrived at the Presidential Office building, she immediately stopped at the main guard desk. Without her having to say a word, the guards sitting there waved her through. This caught her by surprise, and stood in stark contrast to her treatment by the soldiers commandeering the Research Facility. _I guess Laguna's more worried about his Research Facility than his own safety_, she thought as she continued down the long hall toward his office.

During the short trip, she had managed to control her anger using all the skills of diplomacy Garden had taught her throughout her life. She hadn't forgotten that Laguna was probably Garden's best and most powerful friend in the outside world, and had told herself that he wouldn't have shut her out without a very good reason. Still, it had been all she could do to force her anger deep within herself. She just hoped she wouldn't take it out on Seifer again.

She passed through the doorway into the anteroom adjoining Laguna's office and walked calmly to the desk at the opposite end. She recognized the woman sitting behind that desk; Brenna was Laguna's last line of defense against unwanted visitors, and had kept her eyes trained on Quistis from the instant she appeared from the corridor.

"Excuse me, I need to speak with President Loire, please," Quistis said. Quistis had spoken with her several times, and knew that she was far more than a secretary, but also a skilled fighter, carrying concealed weapons, and one of Laguna's best-kept secrets. Not even Esthar's High Legislators knew that the secretary they met when visiting the President's office was fully capable of killing them if they threatened her employer. _I'd never tell your secret, Laguna. Why did you tell mine?_

Brenna, her expression mild and almost disinterested, said, "Ms. Almasy, I'm afraid the President is very busy." Her tone was even and professional. "I can tell him you were here, and set up a meeting with you for a later date."

Quistis sighed and massaged her forehead with one hand. "He authorized me carte blanche access to the Research Facility, and just this morning I find that he authorized its shutdown and all its personnel taken into custody. Why did he do that? And why did he not arrest me as well?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't have any information on that." Brenna sighed. "If it's an emergency, I can let him know you're here…"

"Do that, please." Quistis interrupted. "Please, it's important."

She stood rooted to the spot, her arms clasped firmly behind her back, as she watched Brenna touch a spot on her desk. "Sir, Ms. Quistis Almasy is here, and requests to speak with you."

After a moment's delay, a voice came from the walls, sounding as if it had been spoken in the same room, _"Please come in, Quistis."_

Brenna looked back up at Quistis. "Go ahead, ma'am." She nodded to the men standing in front of the double doors past her desk, and they stepped aside. Quistis walked toward the doors, and the guards dutifully opened them for her. Inside, she barely noticed the suited men that shuffled off to a side room as Laguna stood to greet her, flanked by the slender Kiros and imposing Ward. "Quistis…"

"Mr. President," she said, almost breathlessly. "Why did you shut down the Research Facility?" She put her hands to her hips.

"Quistis…" Kiros started.

Laguna waved to his friend and then motioned to a chair in front of his desk. Quistis remained standing, so Laguna did the same. "I had no choice. We haven't made any headway into the Lunatic Pandora incident, except that it was definitely sabotage. But we don't know who. Or _why_. We had to take everyone into custody to keep them from covering their tracks any more than they already have."

"But why did you shut _me_ out?" Quistis said. "Am I a security risk?"

"Quistis," Laguna said with a sigh, "You've got to understand, this is a very big deal. We've got to know what happened, and if we're going to investigate, we can't let anyone who's not part of the investigation have access to the confidential files. At least you didn't have any in your suite while you weren't there. That would have…looked bad."

Quistis's jaw dropped open. "Wait…in my…did your people search my family's room?"

Kiros tilted his head sympathetically. Ward crossed his arms and looked away from her. "Quistis, I'm sorry, but we had to cover all the bases." Laguna said.

"But you searched my _room_? Without even _telling _me?" She clutched her hands to her stomach, feeling suddenly queasy. _Why didn't Seifer contact me? Unless…_ "Where…where was my family?"

"They weren't there," Kiros said. "We waited until they left, and were finished well before they got back. They don't suspect a thing."

"I…I…"Quistis started. She swallowed. "I feel sick. I just can't believe this. After all you've done for us, for _me_, to do _this_…"

"The lockdown isn't forever, Quistis," Laguna said. He rose from his seat and placed a hand on her shoulder. Quistis was so sapped of strength that she couldn't even garner the willpower to shake it off. "Hopefully in a few days we can clear most of the people there, and we can let you back in with the same access you had before." He moved around to her front and caught her eye. "Maybe you could take a few days to just relax? There's a lot to do in Esthar City alone. We're becoming quite the tourist spot, you know." He laughed a little uneasily.

Quistis shook her head. "I…I…no, I can't. Maybe…maybe it's time for me to go home."

"Are you sure? You're welcome to stay in the Residence as long as you want."

"No, I…I can't stay any more." She walked away from Laguna, and his hand slid off her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but…I think it's time for us to go home."

Laguna sighed. "Okay. We don't generally do any military flights in that area, but we can make an exception. Unless you'd rather have Garden handle your travel arrangements."

"No, it's fine. Thank…thank you, sir, for everything. I need to go get my family ready."

Laguna nodded. "Okay." He leaned over and typed on the surface of his desk for a moment. Then he stood up straight again and said, "Call Brenna as soon as you're ready, and we'll set up a flight directly to Garden. We'll use one of the stealth airships, so you can avoid the press when you get back."

"Press?"

"Yeah, didn't they tell you? The press has been swarming every Garden. They…" Kiros put a hand on Laguna's arm and interrupted him.

Kiros said, "The press is always hunting for a story. We figure you probably don't want to deal with them."

"Thank you, I…appreciate that," Quistis said.

Laguna sighed. "I'm sorry this had to happen, Quistis. I really wanted to help you find what you were looking for, but our first priority, not just for our country but for the world, is to find out what happened to Lunatic Pandora, figure out who is responsible, and make sure they're in a position to never do something like that again."

"I know," Quistis said and turned her eyes back to Laguna. It took all her strength to keep both the tears and the anger out of them. "You've got to do what you've got to do." She sighed one more time. "Thank you for your hospitality. I need to go get ready."

Laguna nodded. "I hope, once this all blows over, that you'll come back. I do want to help you, I really mean it."

Quistis forced a smile and nodded. She then headed back toward the double doors, which were again opened for her by Laguna's guards.

As she passed Brenna's desk outside, the secretary said, "Ms. Almasy, please call this office when you're ready to leave. We'll have a military VIP airship on standby for you.

"Thank you," Quistis said, only slowing her pace a little. She then hurried only when she'd left the anteroom, moving as quickly as she could toward the crossover to the attached Residence building.

VVVVVVVVVV

When Quistis finally reached the Beatrix suite, she found Seifer and the kids in the living room, reclining on the sofa and watching cartoons together on the wall-sized television screen. She swallowed, made difficult by her dry throat. "Everyone, we, um…need to go back home. Pack up guys."

Seifer turned to her. He'd neither heard nor felt her come in the room, which had surprised him. "What? Now?" he said. The kids turned away from their show to look at their mother.

"Yes," Quistis said. "I know we've all been thinking about it, and we're all a little homesick. I think it would be nice for us all to go home and relax there."

Jessa and Tracker looked at each other, then back at her. "Can we finish the show?" Tracker asked.

Quistis smiled faintly. "Okay, but as soon as it's over, go start gathering up your toys."

"'kay", Tracker and Jessa both said. Quistis felt a little relief. At least they seemed to be bored with Esthar already. That would make it all the easier to leave it behind.

Seifer got up moved close to Quistis. He leaned in to her and kissed her on the cheek, then whispered, "Why are we leaving all of a sudden? Don't you have a lot more work to do?"

"Where did you and the kids go today?" Quistis asked _sotto voce_.

Seifer raised his eyebrows. "We…went out to breakfast and the park. Why?"

Quistis took his arm and pulled him toward the kitchenette, just out of the children's earshot. "Esthar soldiers searched through our suite today."

Seifer opened his eyes wide. "They _what_? Why?"

Quistis tried to hush him, but the children had already heard. "Daddy? What wrong?" Jessa asked.

He turned back to them. "Nothing. Mommy was telling me about work, that's all."

"Oh. Mommy, your work okay?"

"It's okay sweetie, really. Your show's still on." She gestured toward the screen.

"Yeah." The girl then turned back to the show without another word.

"They wanted to make sure I didn't leave any of my work here," Quistis said quietly. "They've locked down the Research Facility, arrested everyone who works there, and confiscated everything, even my computer. They say someone intentionally caused Lunatic Pandora to go haywire."

Seifer crossed his arms and stared at her a moment. "Are you a suspect?"

Quistis shook her head. "No, but they said they had to take control of everything in and from the facility." She sighed. "Laguna said it was a 'good thing' I didn't have any of my work left here."

"So you _might_ be a suspect."

"He's letting us leave the country, or so he says. They're giving us a military airship flight directly back to Garden." Quistis hung her head, and Seifer took her into an embrace. "What the hell is happening? It's like everything's gone nuts."

Seifer stroked her head. "I don't know, Quisty. Wish I did."

"Well," she said, breaking the embrace, "anyway, we should start packing now. I just…I can't stay here anymore. This room, this building, this country. I'm…I'm sick of it already."

Seifer stared into her eyes for a moment, then looked away. _Wonder if she knows that's music to my ears._ "Okay, let's start packing," he said.

VVVVVVVVVV

While she knew the children were homesick, suddenly having to pack up made them less than enthusiastic. The truth of it hit them once their show was over. Jessa kept asking why they had to go, and Tracker repeatedly asked, "Was I bad?" Quistis did her best to sooth their worries, but the fact that her shock and despair had boiled away to reveal her emotional exhaustion and simmering anger toward Laguna and Esthar's government did nothing to help her disposition with her children.

With a little help and a few well-timed Haste spells, they were all packed within an hour. Quistis summoned up every ounce of self-control and made a call to the President's office. Brenna answered, and Quistis was glad she wouldn't have to speak to Laguna himself. Brenna sent a car to take them to the air base where they would board the _Odin_, one of Esthar's VIP airships. Or so the woman told her, anyway. She supposed that, if they were going to take her into custody, a military airbase would be as good a place as any.

Then again, so would have been the Presidential Offices or the Research Facility.

Their car arrived in fifteen minutes, and after another fifteen, they were loaded and on their way to the base. Quistis remained silent during the ride. Tracker cried a little, possibly sensing his mother's barely-contained anger, until Seifer promised him a window seat on the airship. Seifer hadn't been sure that the airship would actually have windows for the passengers, but it worked to calm down his son. Jessa just stared at her mother, who likewise sat staring out the car window the entire short trip.

Not long after they arrived on base, they were in their seats on the airship. The amenities were first-class, far too extravagant for Seifer's tastes, but gave the children one last thrill of their trip Esthar. Quistis had neither the energy nor the desire to partake of the free gourmet meal, champagne, or on-demand movies, but was at least a little glad that Seifer was able to distract the children with them. All, at least, but the champagne.

She stared out the window as clouds rolled by underneath, breaking often to reveal the vast ocean far below them. Flying in the _Ragnarok_ had always given her a secret thrill, but any excitement had left her this day. Not even the anger was left. She just felt _old_. Old, in the way, and useless. As she mulled over it, her depressed mood sank deeper and deeper. She had to talk to someone, but not Seifer. She didn't want to upset him or the kids any more than she already had.

He half-considered slipping back into the Crossroad to talk to Aria, but had a feeling that the kids or Seifer would wake her up too often for her to remain there for any length of time. There was only one other person, the one left whom she trusted the most. _Rin, can you hear me?_

There was no answer.

_Rin?_ _You… S_he interrupted her own message, realizing that, in Balamb, it was probably the middle of the night. She cursed herself inwardly. She didn't want to disturb Rinoa, even though this was the first time since Rinoa's rebirth that they had been apart for such a long time, and they had much catching up to do. Quistis could only imagine what she and her family was going through, and that they needed their own time as well, but on the other hand, she couldn't keep everything bottled up inside her much longer. She hoped Rinoa would understand. _Rin, I need to talk to you, please._

_Quisty?_ Quistis felt relief when Rinoa's end of the mind-link went live. _Sorry, I was…Is everything okay?_

Quistis sighed, a tear of frustration pushing its way over her eyelid. _No, no it's not._

VVVVVVVVVV

Rinoa sat up in the bed and wrapped her arms around herself. She and Quistis had talked for over twenty minutes, with Quistis finally breaking the link when her energy finally left her and she drifted off to sleep. During the whole conversation, Rinoa could feel the pain, frustration, and despair flowing from her friend. _My God_, she thought. _What the hell is going _on _over there?_

Squall stirred, then woke when he realized their mental connection had gone inactive. "Rin? Y-you okay?"

Rinoa looked down to him and ran a hand over his shoulder. _Yes, I'm fine. Quisty's not, though._

Squall drew in a deep breath and turned over. _ Quisty? Is she okay?_ He sat up, his suddenly-awakened mind unable to realize Rinoa had already answered that question.

_In the general sense, yes,_ Rinoa said. _She, Seifer, and the kids are on their way back to Balamb._

_What?_ Squall asked, his mind clearing. _It's only been a few days. She can't be done with her research already._

_She's not,_ Rinoa said. _Laguna shut down the Research Facility and locked her out._

Squall leaned in to her. _ He did _what

_She wouldn't tell me any details, but basically they think someone working for Odine sabotaged Lunatic Pandora and caused the disaster. They shut down the facility, took all her notes…they even searched their suite at the Residence!_

Squall stared at her for a second, then rolled off the bed and pulled on his pajama pants.

_Where you going?_ Rinoa asked.

_I'm gonna call him and get to the bottom of this. He knows how important her work is, and he better have a damn good reason for shutting her down like this._

_Squall, he _is_ the President, you know,_ Rinoa said with a sigh. _Everything and everyone in that facility is his responsibility. Quisty was a guest._

_I'm not going to yell at him_, Squall said, _but I _am_ gonna get an answer. How are they getting back?_

_Military airship. They should be here by morning_, Rinoa said. To Squall's questioning glance, she said, _It's a VIP transport, she said. I guess Laguna wanted it to be one last apology._

Squall nodded and walked out of the bedroom, through the kitchen toward the living room. Rinoa followed close behind, pulling a nightgown over her head.

Squall walked past Alexa, who was seated at the kitchen table and pouring chocolate syrup into a mug of coffee. "Dad?" She saw the stony expression on his face and said, "Dad, you okay?"

"Yeah," Squall said. "Just gotta make a phone call."

Alexa turned to Rinoa, who was hot on Squall's heels. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Rinoa paused for a second, put her hand on Alexa's, and said, "Don't worry, just something came up."

Squall continued to the living room, sat in front of the videophone, and tapped in the direct number Laguna had given him. It rang twice, and then Laguna's face appeared in the monitor.

"_Squall? Is everything okay?"_

"Did you throw Quistis out of the Research Facility?"

Laguna looked down, then back up at Squall. _"I didn't 'throw her out'. I did have to shut down the Facility, though, and the only way to continue the investigation was to make sure we had full control over everything inside."_

"That's what I've heard. You think someone working there intentionally caused Lunatic Pandora's malfunction?"

"_I can't get into details, but yes, that's where the signs are pointing."_

"So…when will Quistis be able to get access to the facility again? Or talk to Odine?"

"_I don't know, Squall. Right now we don't even know who's responsible."_

Squall hesitated for a second. "Is…could Odine have done it?"

"_I can't talk about it, Squall, I'm sorry. I have to go, though, I've got to get back to this investigation."_

Squall sighed. He hadn't really expected much of an explanation, and his expectations were met. "Okay, thanks."

Laguna nodded. _"I'll talk to you later, son, once this is all over. I promise."_ The screen went dark.

Squall looked up at Rinoa, who was standing to the side of the phone. He shrugged. "Well, there's our answer. Not much of one."

"Does he understand how important this work is to her? To me? To all of us?"

"I think he does. But I can't make him do anything, especially not with what happened." Squall lowered his forehead into his hand and rubbed his temples. "I just hope Quisty's not taking it too hard."

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis sat on the bed, her arms crossed and eyes squeezed shut. Garden had spirited them away from the airport before the press could be alerted to their presence, and snuck them into Garden. The kids had far too much energy to sleep through the flight, fortunately, so they had immediately dozed off when they arrived home. Their parents were preparing to do the same themselves.

Seifer crawled up behind Quistis and slipped his arms around her. She smiled a little and rested her head against his, which had appeared on her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm still furious, just hiding it better," Quistis said. She laughed, then sighed. "I'm okay, I guess I understand why it had to happen. I just wish the timing had been different."

"Well, after this whole thing blows over they'll probably let you back in."

"Maybe," Quistis said. "I don't remember...it was all kind of a blur, but I think I was a bit rude to Laguna."

"Bah, that guy couldn't hold a grudge if it was glued to his hand," Seifer said. "It'll be fine, trust me."

"I do trust you, Seifer," Quistis said. She turned and kissed his lips. "And I do need you. I'm sorry about the things I said the other night, I'm just…confused. Lately."

"Well, it hasn't been the most normal week," Seifer said. "I'm…sorry I stormed off before. Guess we were just both tense."

"Yeah," Quistis said. After a moment's pause, she said, "I'm really tired, sweetie. I need to go to sleep."

"Okay," Seifer said, releasing her from his arms. As she lay down, he covered her with the blankets, and then kissed her forehead. "Good night."

"Good night," Quistis echoed, and closed her eyes. He sat there staring at her for a few moments, marveling at the absolute beauty in the woman lying in front of him. He had seen her everywhere from jovial to frustrated, from cool to enraged, and she had been the most beautiful creature he'd ever known each time. He stroked her cheek with his rough hand, eliciting the tiniest of smiles from her sleeping face. Finally, he lay down himself and let sleep take him.

VVVVVVVVVV

Seifer had slept no more than ten minutes before he awoke, shooting into a sitting position, his face soaked with sweat. "Fuu, Rai, I'm sorry…" he said between breathless pants. As he scanned the room and his mind settled, he remembered where he was.

_Not there. I'm here. Home. Balamb Garden._ He was where he lived, where they all grew up. But Fujin and Raijin never returned to it…

"Damn," he muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead. He glanced over to Quistis. She still appeared to be fast asleep. _At least I didn't wake her up_, he thought. He climbed out of the bed and quietly left the room, closing the door behind him. He tiptoed to the kids' rooms and peeked inside; both were snoozing as well. _Hope they stay that way for a little while._

He crept to the kitchen and opened a cupboard. He slid aside several boxes of instant noodles and various canned goods and found what he was looking for. He pulled out the bottle of Perennium whiskey and set it on the counter. He then opened another cupboard and began reaching for a glass, stopped, and closed the cupboard again.

_Why mess up a glass?_ he asked himself. He opened the bottle and took a healthy swig of the amber contents. He scrunched his face as the burning liquid left a trail of heat down his gullet, and after a satisfied grunt, he started to close the bottle. He hesitated for a second, drew another gulp of the liquor, and then capped the bottle and returned it to its hiding place.

He stood there for a moment, thinking. His heart was still racing, and he probably wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, at least not without a workout. Morning classes should still be in session, so the Training Area should be relatively cleared of people.

He walked to the clothes hamper in the hallway and pulled out the clothes he'd been wearing earlier. Once he was dressed in them, he headed toward the weapons case by the front door. He opened it, revealing his Hyperion gunblade displayed proudly next to Quistis's Save the Queen whip. He withdrew the gunblade and slid it onto his belt scabbard.

He then opened one of the drawers in the case, scooped out a handful of ammunition, and dumped it into his coat pocket. Then, with a quick glance over his shoulder, he pulled up the drawer bottom, revealing three small spheres: one gold, one red, and one purple. He picked them up in both hands and pressed them into his chest.

He felt the old familiar tingle of other minds entering his own, and actually sighed with relief. _Pandemona. Diablos. Siren. Been a while, guys._

Each of the three responded to him in their own ways. Pandemona gave an airy greeting, more like a summer's breeze blowing through a forest than a voice. Diablos spoke in a cackling, almost theatrical voice, while Siren sang to him in the dulcet tones of an opera diva. He was pretty sure they were all happy to greet him. They should have been. If not for him, they would have been locked away in Garden's vault with all the rest of the confiscated Guardian Forces. At the time he hadn't been sure why he was compelled to "rescue" them, but his recent nightmares had made him quite glad for his foresight. He needed their help, and it wasn't to simply give him the ability to use magic.

_Up for a little exercise?_ he asked them. They all responded in the affirmative._ Good. Let's go wipe out some monsters. And while we're at it, don't forget I need you. I need you to help _me_ forget. Think you can do that?_

Siren's response was kind, but unsure. Pandemona's was uncaring, as if memories were nothing but trifle to him. Diablos simply laughed maniacally. Seifer smiled. _Good enough for me. Let's go make a mess._

VVVVVVVVVV

"Hi Quistis!"

"Hi, Aria," Quistis said, sitting on the ground in front of the girl.

"It's so good to see you! I didn't even have to call!"

Quistis felt a twinge in her stomach at that, but did her best to hide it. This was only the third time they'd met, after all, and until the second time she'd been sure the first meeting was a feverish dream.

"Did you find Samantha?" Aria asked, leaning forward, her eyes wide and gleaming.

Quistis lowered her head and took a breath. "No, not yet. The people that have been helping me find information about Sorceresses…well…someone thinks they did something very bad, and put them in jail for a little while."

"Jail?" Aria asked, her gleeful expression melting into worry. She drew her knees to her chest. "Was the bad thing…was it helping you find Samantha?"

Quistis shook her head and took Aria's hands. "No, no…there was…well…they…broke something important, and it caused a lot of…trouble."

"What did they break?"

"It…" she sighed, "it was a big machine called 'Lunatic Pandora'. It was a machine that was supposed to help use some of the power from the moon."

"Oh," Aria said, looking away from Quistis. In her reply and countenance, Quistis sensed that Aria knew something about it, or at least recognized the name, but was trying to pretend she didn't. Her eyes tracked down to the moogle character on Aria's nightshirt. She stopped, staring at it for a second. It looked different, somehow. Its eyes, normally mischievous, now had a hint of malevolence in them. She tilted her head to get a closer look.

"So, you can't find Samantha now?"

Quistis snapped her gaze back up to Aria's eyes. She took a quick glance back down, and Kushu's eyes were just as they'd always been. Knowing and mischievous, but playfully so. She returned to meet Aria's expectant stare. "I didn't say that. It'll just take longer. But I promise you I'll find her."

"Okay." Aria sighed and let her knees flop back onto the ground.

Quistis leaned forward a little. "Is there anything else you can tell me about what she did, or where she might have gone, after she got your powers?" she asked. "The more you can tell me, the easier it'll be to find her."

Aria looked off into the misty distance. "Well, she came back a few times. She looked a little different every time I saw her. I think she was getting older, it was a long time I think, but…she was different other ways too. She wasn't as nice as she used to be. She was…madder, I think. I mean…angrier."

"Angrier?" Quistis asked. "Do you know why she was angry?"

Aria shrugged. "She kept saying that it wasn't fair that I was dead, and that she had to keep running away, and she'd find some way to fix it. I don't know what she meant, but she said that she wanted to get more power to do it."

Quistis cocked her head and stared at Aria. "More power? Did she…do you know if she found a Knight?"

"A what? Wait," she interrupted, before Quistis could explain, "isn't that, what did you say, someone that keeps you from being sad?"

Quistis smiled a little. "Something like that. A Sorceress's Knight is someone who helps her…you know, keeps her company and helps her from being too lonely. To help her control her powers."

"Oh. I don't think so. It'd always been just always me and Samantha. I think it was the same after I died. Does that count?"

_Not really_, Quistis thought, dread starting to creep up her throat. She was starting to fear where this was going, and on which side of history Quistis would find Samantha. "Did she come to see you a lot?"

"At first, yes, but then she stopped coming after a while. The last few times…she was really…scary."

"Scary how?" Quistis said. "Was she mean to you?"

"No, not to me," Aria said, putting a hand to her cheek, "but I think she was being mean to other people. The things she said to me made it sound like she was really mad at them."

"What did she say?" Quistis asked.

"That she was going to make them all pay for 'injustice', or something like that." Aria shuddered.

Quistis simply stared at Aria, at a loss for words. Aria looked at her and said, "Are you okay, Quistis?"

Quistis, who was not at all okay, nodded in quick jerks. "Yes. Please, go on."

Aria shrugged. "There's not much more, really. Not long after that she stopped coming." She hung her head for a moment, then looked back up. "Oh, one more thing I remembered," she said. "The last thing she said before she left the last time."

"What was it, Aria? What did she say?"

Aria sighed, now clutching her knees even tighter than before to her chest. "She was really scary. She didn't look like Samantha anymore. She'd changed so much. And not just how she looked, how she talked. She said something about, 'You will know my name.'" She shut one eye and looked upward. "No, that's not right…it was, "The world will know my face and fear my name forever.' That's what she said."

"Know my face and fear my name," Quistis echoed in a low voice. She had never heard it said exactly like that before, but many tyrants in history had said such things. She also knew that nobody who had said anything like that had ever survived long enough to fully realize that goal.

"One more thing. Her name…she said it wasn't Samantha anymore."

Quistis snapped her full attention from her thoughts to the girl. _A different name? Why didn't you tell me before?_ "What did she say her name was?"

Aria sighed. "I remember now. She said, 'from now on, the world shall know me as Adel.'"


	9. Chapter 8: Adel

Chapter 8: Adel

Quistis awoke with a start. _Adel,_ she thought. _Samantha was Adel. _It all fit. She put her hands to her face, shaking off her sleepiness. The time period Aria had lived, the fact that they had traveled so much; while little was known about Adel's past before taking over Esthar's government, it was known that she was not a native of that nation.

The next pang hit her. Adel. The same Adel Quistis and her friends had killed 10 years ago. Even though Adel had proven herself to be evil, had tried to kill Rinoa…how could she tell Adel's little sister, who mostly remembered Adel as a kind young girl, that her sister had to die so the world would be safe? _My God, how can I…_

Before she could finish that thought she was suddenly bombarded with images, sounds, and sensations, none of which belonged to her. Faces flashed before her eyes. Screams filled her ears and fear tore at her stomach. She clenched the sides of her head as she saw dozens of women, some young, some old, some _children_, being gunned down, stabbed, or torn apart by powerful magic. As this was happening, she heard a chanting rise, almost in the background, that sounded to her like a children's choir.

_Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec_.

She saw clawed fingers attached to hands that seemed to be her own. She saw them reach out and grab quivering bodies that hadn't died, despite their grave injuries, and rend them until tendrils of magic wrapped back up those hands' arms into her and the bodies finally went limp. The chanting continued, becoming louder.

_Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec_.

All she knew at that moment was fear. Not just for the horrific visions she was having, but because the feeling of what she saw herself doing was so _good_, like she was accomplishing a personal mission.

_Fithos Lusec…_

More screams, but now they felt like they were coming from her own mouth. A face before her, chiseled, pale, lined with red and eyes deathly black, its red-lipped visage grinning with sharp-toothed hunger. Bright red hair flowed out from its head, flying in a breeze she couldn't feel. All she could feel was her body being rent asunder, her strength being drained, and the final moment of surrender as her powers left her.

…_Wecos Vinosec_…

She tried to scream out, but her voice wouldn't work. She rolled out of the bed onto the floor, curled into a fetal position, and wept silently as continuous sights, sounds, and sensations shot through her consciousness. All that while the chanting grew louder, increasing from a vocal chant to an almost frantic recitation, as if it were a prayer being shouted to ward away a coming darkness.

…_Fithos…_

She now commanded legions of blue-and-white-armored soldiers as they marched across the snow-covered plains of Trabia, slaughtering anyone that faced them, or had simply been too slow in running away.

…_Lusec…_

She took personal joy at hearing the screams of the young women, because through them she could somehow tell which were Sorceresses and which were useless cattle.

…_Wecos…_

She felt ecstasy as she took the power from each, bringing her goal of vengeance that much closer to reality.

…_Vinosec…_

She would avenge her sister. She would march across Deling City and vaporize every living being there…

As those feelings continually emerged the chanting rose in volume and pitch to screaming, as if the owners of the voices were being slaughtered and the words they cried were their final pleas for mercy.

…_Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec…Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec…Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC FITHOS LUSEC…_

_Stop it! _her mind shrieked, tearing through the maelstrom and drowning out even the children's screaming mantra. The voices instantaneously ceased. The visions flashed out of her mind, but she could still see some of them, phantoms laid over the mid-afternoon sunlight of her bedroom, like she'd been unblinkingly staring at them for hours.

The door burst open, pieces of the latch flying outward as Seifer rushed inside. He stood before her, scanning the room for attackers, and when he could see none, he immediately flung himself onto Quistis as if to shield her. From down the hall came the cries of a young girl, having also heard her mother's mental scream, frightened out of a deep sleep. "Quisty, what happened?" he asked, his breath coming in quick rasps.

Quistis could barely hear him over the pounding of her ears, but even then could not understand what he was saying. She simply started saying, her voice a low croak, "Adel. That can't be Adel. But it is. Adel. She's Adel…?"

"Adel?" Seifer asked. "What about…what about Adel?"

Quistis looked up at him, her eyes blank. Before she could say anything more, both of their minds were struck with an image, a memory, of two bodies. Lying dead on a grassy hill. Blood soaking the ground beneath them. One, dark-skinned and muscular, lying face down and motionless. The other, much smaller and with pale skin and white hair, whose single red eye gazed up at them with adoration. Her tiny mouth gave the rarest, yet the most beautiful of smiles, before she finally expired and her face went slack.

Fujin and Raijin.

The image so shocked Seifer that his limbs went slack, his grip on his wife loosened. Quistis, as if released from a slingshot, jumped to her feet, throwing Seifer off her like he weighed nothing, and bolted out of the room toward the corridor. She pounded the apartment door's control until it finally slid open, all the while murmuring, "Gotta find her. Gotta figure it out. I have to. Adel. What did you do? _Why_ did you?"

She leapt out into the corridor and immediately turned left, sprinting down the hallway. Her bare feet slapped against the tile floor with each step. When she reached the intersection, she skidded to a halt. She shot her gaze in both directions, not noticing the students and faculty staring at her, nor the fact that she was still in her pajamas.

To the right was the elevator. _Too slow._ To the left was the circular classroom hallway; midway down that hall was the main stairwell. _Too far._ Only one way was fast enough. She started running again toward the railing ahead of her. Students were already screaming before she leapt over the railing and began sailing through the open air toward the lower level.

It was a fall that would have killed any normal, unaided person. Quistis, on the other hand, used her magic to cushion her body from the fall. She plunged into the "lazy river" flowing around Garden's central elevator shaft, throwing water outward in all directions and dousing several more students who were walking nearby. The students at the lower level, who had already been screaming when they saw someone making the supposedly suicidal leap from the second level balcony, now ran in terror as Quistis leapt out of the river, cast a fire spell on herself to instantaneously dry off, and landed on the floor behind the Garden Directory.

"The library. Gotta get to the library. It's there, I know it." She took off again, her feet squeaking against the clean tile as she followed the curved corridor. People wisely jumped out of her way, as Quistis would have easily bowled over any of them.

She shot to the right when she reached the "spoke" leading to the Library, continuing her sprint at a pace far faster than any normal human was capable. Once inside, she halted at the librarian's desk. The librarian jumped out of her seat, staring at the scantily-clad woman who had suddenly appeared, as if out of thin air.

"I need everything you have on Adel_ now_!" Quistis orderd, her hands clenching the desk.

"I-Instructor…Almasy? Are…are you all right?"

"Give me Adel_ now_!" Quistis practically screamed.

"In…structor, w-we have a dress code…"

"Useless!" Quistis screamed as she ran back toward the stacks. She twisted her head every which way as her eyes rapidly scanned each title on one of the Reference shelves. Whenever she saw one that looked promising, she leapt to it, yanked it off the shelf, and tucked it under her arm. She paid little care to any extra books she dislodged that fell to the floor. She continued this practice for about a minute until she had about a half dozen books, at which time she marched toward the study carrels, plopped the books down on the desk, and began flipping through the first one.

Despite her obviously confused, distracted state of mind, Quistis found the clarity to focus on the book before her, absorbing every word she read, even as she flipped the pages almost too rapidly for a normal person to see. "Gotta be in here somewhere."

"Quistis, what are you doing? Why did you go away?"

Quistis snapped her head to the left and saw the shimmering form of Aria standing beside her. She jumped out of her seat, her concentration broken. She looked around, not recognizing her surroundings for a split second. Then she turned her attention back to the ghostly girl. "Aria, how are you here?"

"I got scared when you disappeared," Aria said. "I came here to find you."

Quistis blinked for a second, and then shook her head in quick jerks. "I…I'm sorry, Aria, but I had to go. I have to be…sure…"

"Sure of what?"

"Ma'am, who are you talking to?"

Quistis shot a glance behind her at the librarian. "Not now!" she said, then returned to her seat and started flipping through her book again. When she finished it, she slid the second over and began scanning it as well, though she was no longer sure what she was reading or why.

"What did you have to be sure of, Quistis?"

"I don't know, Aria…I just…have to be sure. I think it's…Samantha," Quistis said. Indeed, only one of two words that she could pick out of the racing thoughts in her head was "Samantha". The other, which she didn't want to say out loud again, was "Adel".

"Who's Aria, Ma'am?"

"I said _shut up_!" Quistis spat to the woman standing behind her. The librarian quickly backed off but continued staring at the wild-haired, frantic Instructor. While Quistis had previously spent many hours in this library over her entire life, she had never once broken dress code, much less acted in such a frenzied state.

"What about Samantha?" Aria asked.

"I have to…find out something about her," Quistis said. Samantha. Yes, it was starting to click. Samantha. Adel. Something wasn't right about them. That's why she was there…wasn't it?

"Quisty, who are you talking to?"

Quistis spun around, her arm raised and holding a book, as if preparing to strike. "Didn't I tell you to…" She stopped when she saw who had spoken. "S-Seifer?" she said.

Seifer grabbed her striking arm and lowered it gently. He felt Quistis shaking wildly in his grip, but this time he refused to let go. He took her other arm with his other hand and held her in front of him, staring into her eyes. "Quisty, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"S-Seifer?" Quistis said again. "I…I have to…" She turned her head to her right to see that Aria was no longer there. She gasped and turned back to Seifer. "I…have to find out…about her."

"About…Adel?" Seifer asked. Merely saying the name churned his stomach and left a metallic taste in his mouth.

"I have to…it's important," Quistis said, though most of the forcefulness was gone from her voice. She was sure it was important, but couldn't figure out why. Seifer pulled her toward him and she allowed it, burying her face in chest. Her thoughts, now beginning to slow, began to expel themselves through her lips. "She ties it all together. How could I not see it?"

"C'mon," Seifer said, wrapping his coat around her. "Let's go see the doctor."

Seifer led Quistis, still in her pajamas, across Garden toward the Infirmary. He kept his coat over her to prevent prying eyes from seeing any more than they already had. Instead of staring down any of them as he normally would, though, he kept his eyes on the woman inside his coat, his insides a jumbled mixture of fear and worry.

Once the door slid open to the Infirmary, they could see Doctor Kadowaki at her desk typing on her computer. She looked up at them and her brows furrowed. "Seifer? Is ev…who is that?"

Seifer nodded to the first sick room ahead of him. "That room free?"

"Yes," Kadowaki said as she rounded her desk toward him. When she reached him she opened his coat just enough to see a tangle of blonde hair and a face embedded in his chest. "Quistis? Are you okay?"

Quistis did not answer, but Kadowaki could see she was shaking, as if shivering from an intense cold that wasn't there. She led Seifer into the sick room, pushing the door closed behind her and helping lay Quistis down on the bed. She continued shaking as she turned her head to Kadowaki. "I've got to find her. She's the key. She's the keystone of the whole thing."

"We'll find her Quistis, I promise," Kadowaki said as she unlocked and slid open a drawer next to the bed. Quistis continued babbling as Kadowaki pulled out a syringe, drew some clear liquid from a small vial, and then put one hand on Quistis's arm as she tried to steady it. It did little to help with the young woman's quaking, though, so she looked up to Seifer. "Help me," she said. Seifer, his hands holding Quistis's shoulders, shifted them to the arm Kadowaki was holding. His touch seemed to have a slightly soothing effect on his wife, and her arm slowed its shaking considerably.

Kadowaki wiped a spot on Quistis's arm with a disinfectant pad and then stuck in the needle. As she squeezed the plunger, Quistis's trembling almost immediately stopped. By the time Kadowaki pulled out the needle, Quistis had changed to lolling her head side to side, slurring her words as she continued saying how she had to "find her". Her eyes shifted in all directions, never focusing on any one thing.

"What happened to her?" Kadowaki asked.

"I…I don't know," Seifer said, heaving heavy breaths in an attempt to control the panic that was trying to overtake him. He kept his eyes trained on his wife's face. "I just…she was asleep, I think, and I was in the other room. I heard her scream, but not her voice. It was in my head…you know how she and I can…?" He looked to Kadowaki, who nodded. "Well, I thought she was being attacked or something, so I ran in, but she was on the floor babbling about something. I think she was talking…about Adel," he said, swallowing. "I tried to help her but…she threw me off and ran out of the apartment. I went to check on Jessa…she was screaming…and called someone to come watch the kids. I had to go after her…"

"It's okay, Seifer," Kadowaki said. "Go on."

"She…went to the library. Someone was saying she'd…_jumped _from the second floor!' He shook his head. "Anyway, I got to the library, and she was in the back, flipping through books faster than I could see. She was talking to someone, though. It wasn't me or anyone else I could see, I think. When I said something, I thought she was going to start hitting me, but she calmed own enough so I could get her out of there. The whole time…she was just shaking. What's wrong with her?"

Kadowaki looked down to Quistis, her head still oscillating from side to side, her eyes still floating about in their sockets, even though she had finally stopped babbling. She brushed the hair out of Quistis's face and wiped some sweat from her brow. She pulled over a pedestal on which hung some devices; she pulled one off and stuck it to Quistis's ear as she took another and put it up to her own. "I'll have to do some tests." She looked up to Seifer. "I need to ask: do you think, or even remotely suspect, that she's been doing any kind of drugs? Prescriptions from another doctor, maybe in Esthar? Something she might have…picked up on the sly?"

Seifer was staring at her, his eyes wide with surprise and his irises burning with anger. "Drugs? Just who the hell do you think she is?" he growled through clenched teeth.

"I have to ask."

Seifer squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and shook his head. "She's been…wrapped up in her work a lot lately," he said, forcing his voice to sound more calm than he actually felt. "She was pretty upset when we left Esthar, but I don't think she's been doing any drugs."

"I'm sorry, Seifer," Kadowaki said. "I'm going to run tox tests just to be on the safe side. I gave her a very mild sedative, though…I'm a little surprised that it's had this much effect on her. I gave her one that's more for counteracting 'uppers', and doesn't usually react badly with other drugs." She scratched her nose. "I'm going to watch her closely and make sure there's nothing on the tox screens, like something that someone could have done to her in Esthar." To Seifer's accusatory stare she said, "She's a celebrity, basically, and it's not impossible that someone could have given her…a slow-acting poison, for instance. She needs to stay here for a while. I'll keep a constant watch on her."

"So will I," Seifer said. "If somebody poisoned her, though, and I find out who it was, they're dead." He looked back down at Quistis and took her hands. They were icy cold. _Hang in there, Quisty. We'll figure this out. We'll make you better._

VVVVVVVVVV

Kadowaki had put a top priority on the toxicology tests from the Garden lab, and after an hour the results were ready. Quistis had nothing abnormal in her system, and as far as Kadowaki had yet been able to tell, there were no biological reasons for her episode. Kadowaki wasn't completely ruling out an unknown anatomical cause, and had ordered up a full set of cultures and viral testing, but was already leaning toward the cause being psychological.

In other words, much to Seifer's chagrin, Kadowaki recommended she see a shrink. That was not what he wanted to hear. He didn't like the idea of someone poking around in her head, even if it was Kadowaki herself (who had reminded him that she was a licensed psychiatrist as well as general practitioner). Some things, as he well knew, a person needed to keep secret and he dreaded Quistis losing her own secrecy, even if to someone they trusted implicitly.

Once she was sure there were no chemicals in Quistis's system that could interact harshly with it, Kadowaki gave Quistis a second shot that was specifically designed to counteract mania and mania-like conditions. After another hour, Quistis had emerged from the stupor into which the first shot had put her, and while she was exhausted, she seemed to be in a much more lucid state of mind. Kadowaki had a small supply of books for patients and visitors, and Quistis had borrowed one of them to at least help with the boredom of lying on an infirmary cot for hours at a time. It was a book on Sorceresses, and while it was historical fiction, Quistis had begun taking notes from it onto a small pad of paper that Kadowaki had also given her. While Seifer had tried to talk her out of it, begging her to relax, she'd insisted that the best way for her to relax was to at least feel like she was doing something productive. He'd chosen not to argue, and instead grabbed himself a stack of magazines to peruse in the meantime.

Quistis had been awake no more than thirty minutes when there was a knock at the sick room door. Seifer looked from his months-old issue of _Weapons Monthly_ magazine to Quistis, and then back at the door, whose blinds were drawn. He started to get up but Quistis gripped his hand tightly. "It's okay, it's Rinoa, and she brought the kids." When Seifer tilted his head, she added, "I asked her to come." She tapped a finger to her temple. "I'll tell her to come in."

A second later the door opened, and surely enough, Rinoa was on the other side, holding a sleeping Jessa in her arms. "Quisty?"

Quistis smiled. "Hi, Rin. How are you?"

"I should be asking _you_ that," Rinoa said. "Can we come in?"

Before Seifer could say anything, Quistis said, "Of course, come on in everyone." She beckoned Rinoa forth with her free hand.

Rinoa entered, and Tracker ran in around her legs, shouting, "Mommy! Mommy!"

"Hey big guy," Quistis said. He tried to climb onto the bed, and Quistis assisted him with weak, slightly trembling arms. Jessa awoke from the sound of Tracker's voice, and when she realized where she was, she stretched her arms out toward her mother. Rinoa passed her to Quistis.

"How are you feeling?" Rinoa asked.

"Tired," Quistis said. "But okay, I guess. I wish I knew what happened."

"You don't remember?"

Quistis shook her head. "I remember having…I guess it was a nightmare. I was in our bedroom, I fell out of bed, then the next thing I knew I was talking to A…" she stopped herself. Best not to confuse things yet by bringing up the dead girl she'd been speaking with all this time. "Talking with Seifer…in the library." Quistis ran a hand through Jessa's hair as she nuzzled herself against her mother's neck. "It was…kind of like a dream, you know? One of those where your mind starts racing, and you have to figure out some problem, but the answers are just out of reach, and you have to fight really hard to find them. Then when you wake up, you think you're still dreaming and you still have to find the answer, but you don't remember anymore what it is you need the answer for. Does that make any sense?" She took a couple deep breaths, the act of speaking sapping quite a bit of energy from her.

Rinoa nodded. "Yeah, actually it does." She remembered having those kinds of dreams when she was younger, usually when she was feverish or suffering from the flu. But she'd never been ill like that since she first became a Sorceress. "Are you sick?"

Quistis raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. "Doctor Kadowaki says I've been working too hard, and that it was related to me being locked out of the Research Facility, and it all just came to a head." She took another couple breaths. "So, I'm forbidden, on doctor's orders, from setting foot in the Library for at least a week."

"You _have_ been working very hard," Rinoa said, noticing the look Seifer was giving Quistis even if Quistis herself didn't. "At least you've got Seifer to make sure you do what the doctor tells you."

The women both laughed, and Seifer looked away as Quistis glanced at him. "Yeah," Quistis said, "I'd be lost without him."

Rinoa stayed silent for a moment while Quistis chatted with her children, giving them a saccharine account of what had happened to her, ultimately assuring them that everything would be all right, and that she would be coming home soon. Finally, Quistis said to Rinoa, "So how are you? We've barely talked since…well…since the hospital in Esthar."

"I'm…I'm doing okay," Rinoa said. "It was a little tough afterward. Squall and I kind of hit a rough patch but…I think we're doing better now. We and the kids went for a nice drive today, just looking at the country."

Quistis smiled. "I'm glad, Rin." _I just wish I could say the same for me and Seifer_, she thought to herself. _Some of our rough patches lately feel more like a freeway with no exits._ "Sorry I had to get in the way."

"Don't even think about saying that," Rinoa said, frowning. "I…_we_ still owe you more than we can ever repay." Then, turning her eyes to Tracker and Jessa, "How did the kids like Esthar?"

Quistis looked down at her children, who were both hugging her chest tightly and had quieted down considerably. "Well, tell Aunt Rinoa how you guys liked Esthar."

"It was neat," Tracker said, lifting his head and his voice rising with excitement. "Lotta neat stuff and things." He looked as if he was going to say more, but didn't. Instead, he returned his head to its resting place on his mother's shoulder.

"Yeah, and pretty," Jessa said, her voice carrying little enthusiasm.

"They were kind of excited at first, but got homesick pretty quickly," Quistis said, turning back up to Rinoa. "I was being selfish in wanting to stay for so long."

"Quisty," Seifer said, breaking his silence. He put a hand to her cheek. "You were doing what you had to do. It was important." Quistis turned to him and smiled. She covered his hand with hers.

Rinoa smiled as she watched this. It made her feel much better, and gave her the sense that things might indeed start getting back to normal. "Well, I'm going to let you get some rest. The kids can stay with us for as long as you need. Lexie and Jessa seem to be getting along really well." She laughed. "Lexie's really grown up lately."

Quistis smiled. "Thanks for watching them." She laid her head back onto the pillow. "I'd like the kids to stay for a little while, though. I just…want to be with them."

"Okay," Rinoa said. "But…please, please get some rest. And…if you need to talk…just think it to me, and I'll be there."

Quistis turned back to her, smiled, and nodded. Once Rinoa was gone, she turned back to Seifer. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Don't let me sleep too long, though." She kissed the tops of both her children's heads. "I want to spend some time with all of you, and I've got to work…"

"Like he…ck you do," Seifer said, correcting his curse word on the fly and keeping his voice as gentle as he could muster, both for the children's sake. "You need sleep. I'm gonna make sure you get it even if I have to have the doctor drug you."

Quistis felt her stomach begin to spin at that, and part of her felt the urge to throw his threat back at him. It took her a second to realize he didn't mean it the way she had taken it, and she immediately calmed herself down. He didn't understand, because she'd never really explained it to him. The other part of her wanted to protest because only she could really understand how important her work was to her. But she knew he was only looking out for her, and he wasn't the only one who thought she was working too hard. "Fine. Just promise me you won't sit there the whole time I'm here."

"I'll be here as log as I need to be," Seifer said. "I'm your Knight, and my job is to watch over you. Your job is to let me."

Quistis wanted to be irritated at Seifer's tenacity, but couldn't muster it up within herself. She instead smiled at him, deciding she was very fortunate to have such a strong man to hold her close in her times of need, and hold her closer in the times she tried to push him away. Fatigue began to overtake her, and instead of fighting it, she closed her eyes and let herself go.

This time, there was no Aria. There were no dreams, no nightmares, no visions. There was just blissful nothingness.

VVVVVVVVVV

"Come on in, Squall."

Squall walked through the tall door and closed it behind him. Cid sat at his desk as always, but he appeared to Squall to be quite unwell. He had removed his glasses, holding them in one hand while he massaged both temples with the thumb and middle finger of the other. "Sir? Everything all right?"

Cid sighed. "No, not really. I know you're still technically on vacation and I hate to take you away from your family, especially after all that's happened, but you have to see this." He removed the hand from his face, picked up a remote control, and pointed it at the wall next to his desk. A monitor came to life, and Squall could see a frozen image with the Galbadia News Network logo in the lower right hand corner. The picture, except for the logo, was somewhat grainy and he couldn't tell what it depicted. Cid pressed another button and the video came to life, complete with audio.

"_Once again, we have breaking news: GNN has received information that may lead to the identity of the Sorceresses seen here, fighting the monster that tore its way out of Lunatic Pandora less than two weeks ago." _The video continued on until it centered upon two figures standing next to each other before a giant mass of twisted and crumpled metal. One of the women was in a black outfit and with disheveled blonde hair, the other with black hair and a torn uniform, her backside almost completely exposed; the exposed one had pixellation covering the area of her buttocks. The entire picture had been dimmed except for a circle around the head of the blonde figure.

Squall didn't have to be told who the women were, but even before he heard the next part, he knew the whole world was about to be. _ "Sources from Esthar and from within Garden itself have confirmed that the Sorceress on the left is Quistis Almasy, one of the original Heroes of Time Compression. Ms. Almasy, formerly Quistis Trepe, is married to Seifer Almasy, the man accused, then acquitted of, war crimes during the Second Sorceress War. Both are now members of SeeD, the mercenary force created by Garden, and Quistis Almasy has also been confirmed to be an Instructor at Balamb Garden."_

When the brightened circle shifted to the back of Rinoa's head, Squall turned away. Cid, though, kept the playback running. _"The identity of this Sorceress has not yet been confirmed, but rumors state that she is none other than Rinoa Leonhart, formerly Rinoa Heartilly, daughter of Galbadian president Fury Caraway and another of the Heroes of Time Compression."_ Squall looked back up and saw something even worse than he had expected. The video had switched to one taken during Rinoa's funeral, complete with images of her lying in her open casket.

"Those sons of bitches," Squall said. Cid paused the playback, and Squall continued, "They're showing her funeral like it's some kind of expose!" He stepped backward and practically fell into a chair. He put a hand to his head. "Bloodsuckers."

"There's still more to hear," Cid said. "I'm sorry Squall, but you must."

The playback continued: _"Rinoa Leonhart, wife of SeeD Commander Squall Leonhart, was reportedly killed in an accident in Balamb Garden some six years ago. Because of her status she was given a large public funeral, attended by dignitaries from across the world."_ The funeral video dissolved into a still image of Rinoa from the Lunatic Pandora incident, this one as she was fully-clothed and in the middle of casting some magic during the first part of the battle. Her face was just barely turned to the left. The camera had caught the barest hint of cheek, forehead, and nose, and was apparently the best shot they'd gotten of her face. It was little relief to Squall, though. The picture slid sideways and was placed side-by-side with a cutout of a clear photograph taken of Rinoa during one of her many public relations missions after Time Compression, but before her death_. "Some unofficial sources within Garden have claimed that Ms. Leonhart is in fact alive, though others have claimed she is only a look-alike. All, though, have confirmed that she does indeed seem to exhibit powers beyond those of a normal human."_

The image shifted back to the anchorwoman, looking well-coiffed and made-up, and giving a practiced expression of concern. _"Could this second Sorceress indeed be Rinoa Heartilly? Was her death faked, or could her death have somehow been reversed by her compatriot, alleged Sorceress Quistis Trepe? Calls to both President Caraway and Garden have not been returned as of this newscast …"_

Cid stopped the playback. Squall now found himself rubbing his temples. He knew he shouldn't be surprised that this was such big news; the last three Sorceresses that the general public had known were Edea, Adel, and Ultimecia, none of whose acts were considered by most people to be anything but evil. It was for that reason that Garden had gone to such great lengths to keep Quistis and Rinoa a secret, but it was too late to worry about that anymore. The cactuar was out of the bag, and it was about to needle them all. "So, now what?" he asked, looking to Cid.

Cid shrugged. "Lockdown, to keep all the vultures out. Beyond that, I've got our lawyers and PR specialists working on this, but the best they can come up with is something I could have thought of myself: lay low for now. All of you. No missions, no leaving Garden unless you absolutely have to, and only with my express permission. No more drives like the one you took this afternoon, even if you think you can again sneak around the newspeople camped outside. I'm sorry, and I know we don't typically worry about our public image, but if we somehow lose one of our biggest under-the-table supporters…"

"Caraway," Squall said. "I know. From what I understand he's already been pressured by his government to speak out publicly against us, just to rally some more public support. Before all…this." He gestured to the television, then leaned back and sighed. "We're gonna have to make some kind of statement sooner or later. Maybe…maybe we should just come forward instead of hiding them."

"We're just going to tread water for now," Cid said, holding his hand up. "We'll find out who's talking to the press and…well, figure out what to do with them. There's a reason we make parents sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before we accept their children. In the meantime…I really hate to say, 'Try to enjoy the rest of your vacation,' because I have a feeling this will make it difficult."

"I'll tell them," Squall said. While he didn't much like his own suggestion of coming clean with the world about Quistis and Rinoa, he less liked the idea of a lockdown and knew the others would take to it like a diseased torama. "Quistis…I don't know if she's up for it, but she'll find out sooner or later. Probably best if she hears it from me first." He shook his head. "God, I'm amazed _that_ wasn't on the news already."

"By 'that', you mean Quistis's…episode?" Squall nodded. Cid replied, "Unfortunately, I'd have to say, 'Just give it time.'" He pushed his glasses up to his eyes. "We think we've gotten everyone who witnessed her…episode, and told them to keep quiet about it, but as with any secret, the more important that it be kept, the sooner it'll spread through the grapevine."

Squall stood. "What the hell happened to the days when I didn't care what the world thought of us, as long as we were doing our job?"

Cid offered a small smile. "It's the difference between fighting for your lives and fighting for your survival. They sound like the same thing, but they're completely separate."

"I just wish my gunblade and a good Firaga spell could get rid of _this _particular monster," Squall said. He and Cid stared at each other for a moment longer, and when it was clear neither had anything further to say, Cid nodded. Squall turned and left the office.

He had no more energy for conversation. His brain was too busy trying to figure out how he was going to tell the women, who had once again nearly sacrificed themselves to save the world, that that they had basically become prisoners in their own home because of it.

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis had not taken the news well at all. Granted, she had accepted that, eventually, her status as a Sorceress would become common knowledge. However, the way it had been revealed felt like she had been "outed", as would be done with a spy, or a community leader who turned out to be a child molester. It was the exact same kind of thing she'd been working so hard to turn around, to make being a Sorceress seen not as a stigma, not as something for people to fear, but as a gift for all humanity.

Then again, with all the video footage of her, (even if it was from when she was saving the goddamn _world_) it didn't really surprise her that she had been "outed". Still, it had brought things to a head that she hadn't wanted revealed just yet. She feared for her children, and indeed for all the children of Garden. If the irrational shame she was forced to bear was carried over to them, they would in essence be punished for being associated with her. Avoiding that possibility was what drove her back to her work almost the moment she was released from the infirmary.

Quistis had headed straight to the library, and had gathered up most of the same materials she'd been tearing through just the other day. Her heart so heavy with worry that it felt it had collapsed, she walked up to the library counter. Siefer was at her side, his eyes alternating between her and the faces of everyone who stared.

Quistis had been sent home from the infirmary that morning, but by noon was going stir crazy. Doctor Kadowaki had given her some pills to help prevent any further bouts of mania, but Quistis had a strong opposition to chemical dependency; her adoptive mother, Marianna Trepe, had been addicted to tranquilizers and that had been one of the major reasons for the emotional abuse she'd suffered under the Trepes' care. Seifer had respected this opinion and sympathized with her, but at the same time insisted they were for her own good. He refused to let her out of his sight most of the time, although she believed she had managed to convince him that she was following doctor's orders in taking her pills twice daily. She was, after all, directly _disobeying_ doctor's orders in coming to the library, even though she did so in an attempt to stem her own worsening anxiety.

While part of her felt it was chivalrous of him, more of her felt that it was unnecessary, and that he was crowding her, babysitting her. It made her uncomfortable, especially given the looks she was now receiving from patrons and staff alike at the Garden library.

"Let 'em stare," Seifer had said. "You're the same person they've known and looked up to for years, and it won't be long before they'll feel bad for treating you like some kind of zoo animal."

Seifer had never been very good at analogies, but she got the point. And she roundly ignored it. After finding out that her name and face had been splashed across the worldwide news, identifying her as the Sorceress that had saved everyone's lives but who was still someone to be feared, she had lost much of her good humor. While her head knew she had a purpose, knew she had important work to do, knew that she was the most important person in the lives of her children and that they would always need her, her heart felt empty, alone, and tired. Seifer was there, always and forever her Knight, but at this moment she felt he was more like an extra appendage to her.

Overall, Quistis was just plain depressed. But she had two choices: hole herself up in her apartment, or try to continue her work and, hopefully, succeed in educating the world that Sorceresses were not necessarily to be feared.

_Educate the world_. It sounded so silly to her, especially now that the world had been "educated" as to her true nature, as well as becoming privy to more and more information about her than she had ever wanted to become common knowledge. Now that they were virtual prisoners inside Garden, their faces and names infamous as Sorceresses and/or Sorceress sympathizers, her anxiety was again rising to critical mass. It didn't help that she still couldn't remember why it was so important that she find information on Adel, so important that she had to rush to the library in her pajamas, and in the process of getting there scare the living daylights out of everyone in Garden. She knew there was a discrepancy between what she thought she knew about Adel and what the vision had shown her, but like a dream, the feeling of urgency she had experienced that morning had washed away.

She sighed a sigh of emotional weariness and placed the materials on the counter. "I'd like to check these out, please."

"Yes, Sor…Instructor," the Garden student working the circulation desk said. Seifer shot the young man a fiery glance that caused him to recoil, but Quistis just watched dispassionately as he worked. She didn't have the energy to be irritated at the boy's slip of the tongue. Besides, that's what she was, wasn't it? "Sorceress Quistis"? She wondered: would she be remembered in the same breath as villains like "Sorceress Renault"? "Sorceress Ultimecia"?

"_Sorceress Adel"?_ she thought. That thought brought her back to why she was here in the first place. She had a specific task. Something about her vision of Adel…wasn't right. It didn't fit with what she knew. She had to find out what it was, because while history books often had multiple points of view, some contradicting each other, the transferred memories brought by her powers, the memories of previous Sorceresses, had never been wrong. Of course, none had ever been as vivid, or as frightening, as the one that brought on her fit of mania the other day.

She had to be sure before she told Aria…

"What are you doing, Quistis?"

Quistis looked down to see a spectral, transparent Aria standing there, still dressed in her Kushu nightgown, her arms clutched around herself. Aria had not appeared to her, waking or in dreams, since Quistis's episode, but seemed to have materialized as soon as Quistis thought about her. The sight and sound of the girl now made her heart flutter, as if her body were preparing to go berserk again.

She waved a hand slightly, so as not to attract attention, and then turned back to the boy at the desk. He was running each book through the scanning system, each one eliciting a beep from its internal speaker.

"Quistis? Quistis? Talk to me, please! I was so scared, I'm scared now! Where have you been?"

"Ma'am, your special loan privileges allow you to remove these materials from the library, but they must be returned or renewed within seven days," said the young man at the desk, whose name tag read "Dorest". He gestured to two binders Quistis had included in her stack, containing old magazines and newspapers.

"I know," Quistis said. "Seven days should be plenty."

"Quistis? Why won't you talk to me? Are you angry? Did I make you angry?" Aria started sobbing. "Please talk to me! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

"Aria, shh!" Quistis said, turning to her and raising a finger to her lips.

"Excuse me, Ma'am?" Dorest said.

"Quisty?" Seifer said. "You…okay?"

"Y-yes, I'm…fine," Quistis said, immediately snapping her attention back to Dorest. "Am I ready to go?"

"Just let me print your receipt," he said.

"Keep it," Quistis said, scooping the materials under one arm and heading quickly for the door. Seifer had to almost run to catch up with her.

"What was that all about?" Seifer said. "Who's this…Aria?"

"It's nothing," Quistis said. "I just…thought I heard…I have a ringing in my right ear, and I was shushing it."

Seifer tilted his head. Despite all his failings he had never considered himself a good liar, but it didn't take a good liar to spot a bad lie. Still, he said nothing, following her to the elevator and keeping his watchful eye on her.

They rode the elevator in silence, and continued on to their apartment with a similar lack of speech. The children were still out, one of Garden's daycare workers having taken them to the small park outside the dormitories. They weren't due back for a few hours, which gave Quistis time to at least set her mind into action. She put the materials on the kitchen table and fell into a chair, bringing her hands to her head. Seifer sat next to her and put his hand on her knee.

"Quisty, I need you to talk to me," Seifer said. "I have to know what's going on. For the kids, as much as for us."

Quistis looked up at him, and he could see that she looked far more tired, far older than he had ever remembered. Had her appearance actually changed between the library and the apartment?

"I don't know what's going on," she said. "If I did, I wouldn't be having so much trouble dealing with it all."

Seifer looked at her for a second, then down at her books. "Is that what all that's about?"

"Yes. Maybe. I don't know. I hope so. I just…can't focus when you're asking me so many questions."

Had he asked her that many questions? He was pretty sure he hadn't, and that she was starting to slide back into one of her mood swings. Sometimes he felt they were becoming more than he could bear. "You're getting real anxious, you know. Did you take your pill this morning?"

"Yes," Quistis answered quickly, sliding the first book off the stack. She started flipping through it, acting as if it held her full attention.

"No you didn't."

Quistis slammed the book shut, the thunderous _whump_ vibrating the walls and making Seifer jump in his seat. "What are you, counting them now? Aren't you supposed to trust me?" She glared at him for a half-second. "Look, just forget it, okay?" She jumped up from her chair, marched toward the cupboard, flung it open, and grabbed a small blue bottle. She popped the safety cap off and dumped it onto the counter, small white pills pouring out and scattering onto the counter and the floor. She pinched one between her fingers, stuck it in her mouth, and swallowed. She tried to force it down but her throat was so dry that the pill just stuck to the back of her tongue. She flicked on the kitchen faucet, stuck her mouth under the spigot, and took in a generous mouthful.

She gulped down the mouthful, the water forming what felt like a stone as it forced its way slowly down her esophagus. She slapped her hand against the counter once, twice, thrice as the water ball pushed its way down, and gasped when it finally burst into her stomach. She rolled her tongue back and forth, and satisfied that the pill had gone down with the water, spun around and faced Seifer. She wiped her mouth with her hand in a very un-womanlike manner.

Seifer had sat at the table, watching her with a face that almost seemed impassive. She wasn't sure if she would have been more aggravated with him if he had jumped up and tried to stop her, or to at least prevent her from making such a mess. But just sitting there watching her – he was either becoming emotionally exhausted with her, or he was simply letting her have her temper tantrum.

She wasn't sure if there was any way she could be less aggravated. She turned away, tears of frustration now threatening to start oozing from her eyes.

_I love you, Quistis. _

That was not what she wanted to hear, and she definitely did not want to hear him speak it directly into her head. She wanted to hear him make a snide remark. Yell at her for making a mess. Try to comfort her by saying he'd clean _up_ the damn mess. No, he was just sitting there, passively, far more passively than she could have ever imagined him being, and was letting her have her emotional breakdown.

_Why am I _having_ an emotional breakdown?_ she asked herself, keeping these thoughts from Seifer. Then she answered, again privately, _You're kidding right?_ She shook her head. _I've been in worse situations than this, ones where it didn't feel like I had one friend in the world. Why is this one tearing me up so badly? Is it the pills? Am I…pregnant?_

_You do know that I love you, don't you? _Seifer asked when she didn't respond, vocally or otherwise.

Quistis felt herself beginning to weep, and it took every ounce of her willpower to stop it. She didn't want Seifer's sympathy right now. She didn't want anyone's. She just wanted to sit down, think, and wait for the goddamn drugs that she hated so much to take effect. "Yes," she said through the lump forming in her throat.

"Then you know why I'm being an ass about the pills," Seifer said, this time with his voice instead of his mind.

She wanted to faint, to collapse, just go to sleep and let everything fade away from her. Part of being an adult was doing things you didn't want, or actively avoiding things you _did_ want, because they were inappropriate, selfish, or just plain wrong. Then again, maybe it was the pill taking effect already; her mind was so filled with a tangled web of facts, figures, emotions, worries, and arguments that she couldn't be sure of much of anything at the moment. She wondered if this was what it felt like to have an anxiety attack.

After a couple false starts, she said, "You're not being an ass. You're being a better adult than me." She knelt down and started gathering up the pills she'd dropped, mentally slapping herself for having been so careless, even in a tantrum. _God, if Tracker or Jessa gets ahold of any of these…_

"I can get those…"

"No," she said. "Don't. It's my mess. I need to clean it up." She heard him stand up and shot him a look. His face was tight with concern. She was glad for it, and at the same time, hated it. She was so tired of everyone helping her, of everyone giving her sympathy, of everyone supporting her emotionally. She couldn't think of one time in her life that she didn't have to depend on someone to keep herself from breaking down. It was embarrassing, now more than ever, being a high-ranking Instructor within Garden, and as far as the rest of the world now thought, the most powerful Sorceress who'd ever lived.

Seifer watched her for a moment, then finally turned away. He was glad she'd finally taken her pill, even though he'd had to more or less browbeat her into it. He had simply run out of things to say, and could feel the frustration radiating from her. Furthermore, for every word she spoke an image had popped in his head, as if punctuating Quistis's frustration. It was the same image he'd seen the other day, when she had her first fit.

It was Fujin and Raijin, dead on that hill.

He didn't want to believe that she was doing it, and certainly not on purpose, but there it was, seemingly in sync with Quistis's anger. He also knew that, at least for now, it seemed to be getting worse the longer he stuck around. That, and the fact that his own frustration was starting to grow, and also that the longer he stayed near her, the less he wanted to be around her.

He was her Knight, but at this moment he was starting to feel like the best way he could protect her, while simultaneously protecting himself, was to just let her alone for a while. Let her stew on whatever was going on in her head, let him clear out his own head, and hopefully she'd be willing to share some of it with him and let him help. At this moment, though, even if she decided to open up to him, he didn't think he could be receptive to it. He'd gotten too frustrated by her, and was afraid that he just couldn't listen without that overlaying his thoughts and feelings. He turned and, without a word, walked toward the bedroom.

He knew he couldn't do anything more for her until he could clear up _himself_. His mind wasn't fully there. Part of it was still stuck on that hill from six years before, the one where Fujin and Raijin had died. Those repeated flashbacks, which he refused to believe Quistis was giving him, weren't helping. Another part of it was stuck on figuring out if Quistis had actually put those images into his head, and if she indeed had, why? He would be no more good to her, at least until he could get his own head in order.

He closed the door behind him, walked around the bed, and pulled open his nightstand cabinet. Inside was a small bottle of rum he'd stashed there for emergencies. This certainly felt like one. He uncapped the bottle, took a swig, and then sat on the bed, hunched over with bottle in hand. Guardian Forces were supposed to destroy memories the more they were used. By the time he was 17, he could barely even remember having been 12. Why weren't they working now? Why couldn't he forget the faces? Why couldn't he forget the pain?

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis watched him leave and heard the bedroom door shut behind him. The newly-replaced latch clicked ever so gently. She had sent her husband into hiding. Seifer Almasy, the brash, hotheaded egotist who, by his own words, always had to be doing something "big", was now walking on eggshells to avoid upsetting his former Instructor and now wife. Her being upset wasn't even his fault. Not really.

There, in the kitchen, on her hands and knees, Quistis began to cry. She hated herself at that moment. No, she hated herself a lot of times, all through her life, and this was just the latest bout. Or maybe it was a constant hate that just flared up periodically, she wasn't sure. All she wanted to do at that moment was to tear her own body apart, destroy the woman, the Sorceress, Quistis Aurien Almasy, and save herself and the world all the pain of her.

She had not the strength to do that. Nor did she have the true will to rend the flesh from her bones. Instead, she simply lowered her face to the floor and cried some more.

She wasn't sure how long she wept. When she ran dry, she wiped her puffy eyes and sat back on her heels, surveying the room. Nothing had changed. The false sunlight streaming in from the holographic window hadn't changed position much, if at all. She was still alone, Seifer having retreated to the bedroom, the children still out at daycare. Her pile of work was still there on the kitchen table, untouched since she took her pill. She wasn't sure _why_ she'd put her things there instead of on her desk. Maybe she never really intended to do anything with them. Maybe it was a comfort just having them around.

Maybe just having a purpose, having a mission, was enough to keep her from going crazy. She gave a quiet, rueful chuckle._ I'm already crazy. I'm on drugs to keep me from having manic fits, but I'm not even taking them unless Seifer nags the hell out of me. I threw a temper tantrum and then spilled the damn pills all over the place._ She looked down at the floor and the small pills still scattered around. One of them was sitting in a small pool of water that, Quistis was sure, had come from her own eyes. The pill was starting to lose its perfect ellipsoid shape, apparently dissolving in her puddle of tears.

She sighed, and then started gathering up all the remaining pills. Once she had all the ones that were still intact she stood, poured them back into the bottle, and then did the same with the ones that had managed to remain on the counter. She grabbed a napkin, picked up the dissolving one, mopped up the salty water, and dropped it in the trash.

Realizing she still had her shoes on, she calmly walked over to the door to the outside corridor, untied each and slipped them off, and then slid a pair of slippers onto her stocking feet. The cushiony soles felt strange, as most of her body was still tingling with the exertion she'd just had. She sat down at the kitchen table, moving carefully so as to avoid making any noise, and opened the book she'd slammed shut only minutes earlier.

She flipped through the pages for a minute or so, then shut the book again and put her face in her hands, her elbows propped up on the faux wood table. She couldn't think. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to do anything. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

She wanted to be alone. She didn't want to be alone. She wanted someone to help her. She didn't want help from anyone. She couldn't make up her mind. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to go kill something in the Training Area. She wanted to go outside Garden and give those news reporters a true demonstration of Sorceress powers and an explanation of it all, just so the damn speculation would be over with.

Why couldn't everyone just help her? Why did there have to be all the questions, and the politics, and the fear, and the hate, and the hiding? Why couldn't she just be herself?

She cried again.

"Quistis, why are you crying?"

It was Aria's voice. Quistis knew she was there, had appeared to her just as she had in the library, somehow becoming an apparition in the living world, just as Rinoa had those years before. Despite the girl's having managed such an achievement in such a short time, Quistis couldn't look at her. She didn't even feel like_ talking_ to her. That was another one of the things she didn't want to hide, but chose to hide anyway. After all, none of this was Aria's fault either, really, and the poor girl didn't deserve the brunt of her frustration any more than Seifer had.

"Quistis, are you sad?" Aria asked, after a moment of silence.

After another moment, Quistis finally said, "Yes," her words muffled by the hands still covering her face. She sniffled. "I'm sad."

"Why?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Why are you scared, Quistis?"

Quistis sobbed silently for a few more seconds, and then turned her head upward and to the right slightly, uncovering her eyes. Through her blurry vision she could see just what she'd expected: an apparition of Aria standing next to her. Her hands were clutched in front of her, her head was tilted, and she was giving a child's exaggerated frown of sympathy. "Because I don't know what to do."

"Do with what? With me? Are you…still mad at me?"

"Oh, Aria," Quistis said, taking one hand from her face and reaching out to touch Aria's cheek. She realized that she'd forgotten Aria's form was immaterial when her fingers passed right through the child's face. "No, I was never angry at you. You were just…there at the wrong moment, and I took it out on you."

"I was scared that you won't want to talk to me anymore."

"I do, Aria, it's just that…I'm so confused, there's so much going on in my life…I'm not sure I'm the kind of person you want to talk with right now."

"But you _are_, Quistis," Aria said, reaching out for Quistis's cheek. The girl's hand passed into Quistis's cheek just as her own had through Aria's. "I love you. You made me feel better when I was scared."

Quistis felt tears return to her eyes. Seifer had said "I love you" before she basically forced him to leave. "I love you" was not something she wanted to hear right now, mainly because it so desperately made her want to cry again, and not even in the comforting way that an emotional release often did, but in a bitter, painful way.

"I want to help you not be scared," Aria continued when Quistis said nothing.

"I wish you could, dear, but I don't think it'll be that easy."

"Why?" Aria asked.

Quistis sighed. "You know what I told you about how I was finding information about Samantha?"

Aria nodded. "Uh huh."

"Well…" Her throat tightened. "After she changed her name to Adel she…did things. Things that made her famous. Kind of. More like…infamous."

"What?" Aria asked.

Quistis wasn't sure if she didn't understand what she was trying to tell her, or if she just didn't know the word "infamous". She decided to assume the former. "I knew about Samantha for a long time before you told me about her. I knew her as Adel. She…tried to take over the world."

Aria stared at her, her mouth falling open. "What? No…no…Samantha wasn't like that…she couldn't…" She looked away for a second. "Was she evil? Or…was she trying to make the world better? So they wouldn't be afraid of her and hate her?"

"I…" Quistis's words caught in the lump in her throat. Seeing this little girl, so alone for so long, seeing her one hope crushed…she felt like crying again just for this girl, but did her best to hold it in. All her anxieties felt like they were coming to a head. "A…lot of the world…_thought_ she was evil," she said. She didn't know what Adel's motivations were, but based on everything else she knew, they were probably far more sinister than Aria hoped, and far less innocent than possession by Ultimecia or another Sorceress.

"What happened to her?"

"They…sent her away. To space," Quistis said.

Aria's eyes brightened just a little. "Is she…is she there now?"

Quistis opened her mouth to reply in the negative, but stopped herself. She couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't tell this little girl, who had spent so many years isolated in the limbo between life and death, that Quistis herself had been part of the group that had been forced to kill her sister. Even if it was in self-defense, she just couldn't think of a way to say it that wouldn't portray either herself or Adel as monsters. "I…think so," Quistis said. "They put her on a space ship and…sent her…far away."

"Can she come back?"

Quistis felt herself on the edge of crying again, and it took every ounce of the meager strength she had left to keep herself from falling off that edge, if only for Aria's sake. "I don't know."

Thankfully, Aria's expression seemed to brighten. "Then maybe someday I can see her again?"

"Maybe," Quistis said. Her strength gave out, and she began crying again.

"Quistis, don't cry, it'll be okay. I know I'll see Samantha again someday, and that's good enough for me."

Quistis nodded, her lips pressed tightly together and tears running from her eyes.

"Is that what you were scared of? Telling me about Samantha?"

"No," Quistis said, only half-lying.

"Then what?"

Quistis couldn't even begin to think about how to explain her complex mental and emotional state to Aria. There were simply no words to describe it. And yet, her mouth started running without her consent. "The world knows I'm a Sorceress, and they're all afraid of me now. Even the people here at Garden, they're afraid too. I can't go outside, I can't leave my apartment, I've got to take pills…I just don't know what I'm going to do, Aria. I don't know what I'm going to do." She clutched her arms around her stomach and hung her head, crying dryly, her tears already spent.

Aria was silent for a moment. Then, she said, "Are you scared they're going to hurt you? Like they did me?"

Quistis nodded and then pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. "More than that. I'm scared they're going to hurt my babies too. My little girl Jessa, and my little boy Tracker. I love them so much. With all my heart. I'm so scared they're going to be hurt, that their lives are going to be ruined. I never wanted to be a Sorceress. I never wanted to hurt anyone, or make them afraid. I just want…I just want…" Her words had run out, and she simply continued with dry sobs.

"But you're a good person, Quistis," Aria said. "If you help people learn about Sorceresses, won't they know you're good and be good to you?"

"Maybe it's…too late for that," Quistis said. "I don't know anymore, Aria. I'm…I'm too scared of myself to stop other people from being s-scared of me."

"You shouldn't be scared. I know you, Quistis. You wouldn't hurt _anyone_."

Quistis pulled her palms from her eyes and opened them. Her vision was still red and starry from the pressure she'd been putting on them, but it was beginning to clear a little. She looked upon Aria and came to a realization. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Why are you the only one I can talk to?" She squeezed her eyes shut almost immediately, regretting what she'd said. She felt the urge to qualify her statement, so she added, "It…it just seems like I can't talk about this to anyone else, not even Seifer, my _Knight_ for God's sake. But I just…feel like I can tell you this all. Like you're the only friend I've got."

Aria said nothing and Quistis was glad for it. She'd blurted out that last part, her mouth once again overstepping its authority over her private thoughts. Her eyes were still shut, and all she wanted to do was sit there, cry, and be scared, and at the same time, hating that she wanted that. Any more talk was next to impossible, and she was sure nothing was left to be said. She dropped her chin to her chest and brought her palms to her forehead.

With her eyes closed Quistis could not see that Aria had turned away from her. She could not see the expression on Aria's face.

She could not see that Aria was smiling, not with joy or with sympathy, but with _triumph_.


	10. Chapter 9: The Weary and the Wicked

Author's Note: Yes, it's been a very long time since I've updated. I won't bore you with the details of my personal and professional life, but I'm still around and still writing (and expanding my horizons – see my new Persona 4 stories if you're interested).

Chapter 9: The Weary and the Wicked

Rinoa sat in her living room, legs curled up beneath her, her eyes scanning the book in her lap. Squall had gone to bed hours earlier but she was too anxious to lie at his side, pretending to sleep as she usually did. The apartment had grown much quieter over the last day, with Jessa and Tracker now back home with their parents next door. The two toddlers had been there only a couple days, but already the apartment seemed cavernous and empty without the sounds of little children playing, screaming, and doing all that little children did.

That thought made Rinoa's heart ache a little. In the time since her rebirth as a Guardian Force, Rinoa had learned more and more about the limitations of her new body. Her friends had all worked on their plan to bring her back to life, to save her from having to exist as an immaterial specter only to see and be seen, hear and be heard, but not to touch or be touched. They had hoped Quistis's power, with Doctor Kadowaki's help, would have been enough for her to live life as a human being just as she was before she died. As she had begun to accustom herself to her new life Rinoa had, for a time, clung to the thread of hope that one day she could become a mother again, and not just a mother figure, but to actually feel her child growing within her. It was a feeling she could never have described, and yet while she was having it, it was one she never thought she could have missed.

In time, she'd come to accept that it was impossible. While her body had human form, her appearance was only a shell covering a being of pure magical energy congealed into a form of matter. She had no internal organs, nothing to really differentiate her head from her hands or her feet. If she chose to, she could look out her toes as she walked and gain a mouse's eye view on the world. However, she had chosen to take the risk in permanently possessing this body so she could walk, talk, live, and _feel_ like a normal human being. That was why she always kept her form human, only performing extraordinary feats when she needed to stretch her proverbial legs, or when such acts of power were truly needed.

She had managed to set up some automatic functions in her body, such as simulated heartbeat and breathing, and over the years had perfected them such that her breath was actually warm and smelled like it was coming from a human's lungs when she exhaled. She'd even managed to make certain spots on her body, wherever there should have been a detectable artery, pulse in time with her false heartbeat. Now they ran without her intervention, and stopped only when she willed them to, or, as she'd recently learned, when she was nearly drained of energy. But the one thing she could never do again, the one thing she found herself missing more and more, was the ability to become pregnant, to carry a child to term within her belly, and to bring that child into the world through her own pain, sweat, blood, and tears.

She didn't miss all parts of pregnancy. The morning sickness, the swollen feet, the constant bloated feeling and sore back, all of them were things she remembered – not hating, but disliking, when she was pregnant with Alexa. But the feeling that she was carrying a new life within her, that the new life would be born as a darling baby, then a rambunctious toddler, and then…

It made her sad sometimes. At those times she would think about Jett, her son who had died with her. She sometimes found herself wishing that she had held onto him more tightly in the Crossroad, while he was being pulled toward the Afterlife as she remained tethered to the Crossroad. And then she'd stop wishing. When Jett was pulled from her, she felt a great love coming from the place to which he was being drawn. She had already accepted that it was her time and, at that moment, had so desperately wanted to go to that place with him. She wasn't able to. Jett was pulled from her arms and disappeared into the light. The light had then vanished, closing itself off to her and leaving her stranded in the Crossroad, but her son had gone on to eternal joy. Of all the tragedy that had come that day, it was one very good thing that had happened.

Once in a great while, she still wished she had been able to follow him.

There were also times, few and far between, where she resented Quistis for holding so tightly to her, even though she knew Quistis hadn't done it on purpose. Then she'd remember the great burden under which she'd placed Quistis and let her resentment wash away in the stream of her mind. All that had happened was done, and all they had was the future.

Unfortunately, that future wasn't looking too bright at the moment. Rinoa and Quistis had been both splashed across the news, this time with their names attached to the blurry forms captured by the news cameras at Lunatic Pandora. She wasn't as worried for her own future as for Squall's, Alexa's, and Jarod's. Rinoa's status as a Sorceress had never become widely known when she was alive, despite the critical role it had played in the defeat of Ultimecia and the ending of Time Compression. She had made up the story of her powers being sealed up within her so she could spare her friends the need to lie for her or protect her, and that had been good enough. Even after she died and had returned as a spirit, she had appeared and even taught classes in her spectral form for a time, but somehow that information had not become widely known either. Perhaps claims of a ghost teacher at Balamb Garden had been dismissed as one of the many crazy stories told about the mysterious inner workings of SeeD. It seemed to her that no matter what strange occurrences people had seen, from evil Sorceresses from the future to monsters crashing to earth from the moon, there were still limits to what people would allow themselves to believe.

This time, though, she had been caught outside Garden's protective walls and regulations, and had been caught _on camera_ using their powers to their fullest, to a degree which even they had not thought possible.

The merging of two "Sorceresses" into one all-powerful being. In a show of her own example of humankind's self-denial, Rinoa still had a difficult time wrapping her mind around that. At first she'd wondered if it had just been a dream, that she and Quistis had instead been so in sync with each other that it just felt like they became one person. The news coverage had proven that theory wrong. She'd seen the footage of the woman of light, golden hair flying and white wings stretched as far as one could imagine, not long after she'd awoken from the resulting "coma". Part of her still couldn't accept that part of that being had been _her_, that she had utterly destroyed a gigantic monster that had so easily trounced an entire army, the most powerful members of SeeD, _and _both herself and Quistis.

Yet that did not trouble her as much now as it had at the time. There had been so many things she'd had to get over throughout her existence: losing her mother to a car accident when she was 5 years old, losing her father to his work and becoming more of an afterthought to him than a daughter, trying and failing to kidnap Galbadian President Vinzer Deling. She had been hypnotized and nearly killed by Edea and became a Sorceress when she helped defeat Edea. Ultimecia used her comatose body to call forth a premature Lunar Cry and bring Adel back to the planet, and then she helped defeat Ultimecia and became an international hero.

She lost her old friend and longtime companion Angelo to canine lymphoma. And then she lost her son...

If she had survived, she may have lost herself to despair. As it was, dying had given her a much greater capacity to cope with loss, even if the pain never truly left her. At least, when it was all done, she'd had a new anonymity that allowed her to devote her time to her family and her friends. That all was changing now. Not only did the same world that had once celebrated her actions know she was alive, but the rumors had spread like wildfire that she was indeed a Sorceress. Would she be able to cope with this as well, or would it follow her and her family for the rest of their days? Indeed, despite most of the problems of her past, none of them had become public to this great a degree. Her friends easily forgave and forgot, but would the world forget? Would it let them live their lives, or would they be forever swarmed by people that were fascinated by her, and attacked by those who hated and feared her?

Alexa had crawled back into her shell since Squall broke this news to them. While she wasn't really sulking, she barely spoke and did little outside her bedroom each day. Rinoa had seriously considered cancelling the rest of Alexa's vacation so she could go back to class and do more than think about the kind of future that lay ahead for her, now that the world "knew" her mother was a Sorceress. Squall had been against it, though he was determined to do whatever he could to get the family's minds off this problem. Rinoa knew it was fruitless. The problem was all of theirs, and ignoring it and allowing Squall to take it all onto his shoulders, like he always did, would do nothing to alleviate it.

As for Jarod, she sometimes wondered if he regretted having been adopted by such an unusual family. He never showed anything to make them suspect those were his feelings, and indeed he seemed to be the most well-adjusted to the news than any of the rest of them. Of course, the lockdown meant that he couldn't return to school even if they did cancel their vacation, and he had always seemed to enjoy school. He had grown into a more open personality the longer he had lived with them, far removed from the reserved, shy boy they had adopted from Edea's orphanage only five years ago. Perhaps, moreso then they were, he was certain everything would turn out all right. Or, maybe he just didn't understand the ramifications of it all. Before they adopted him he already knew that Rinoa had been the Sorceress, that she had died and returned as a Guardian Force, and that Quistis, the new Sorceress, had made it happen.

Maybe, just maybe, his spending time outside the walls of Garden gave him an insight into life that those inside it didn't have. Then again, Selphie had always been cheerful, and Zell, and Gelessa…

She put down her book. She hadn't been concentrating on it and had read the same sentence over a dozen times. As she did so she felt a presence, as if she were being watched. It seemed a bit like that feeling she got when someone she knew was behind her, and she could always identify who it was by the feeling alone. This was different. Cold. Resentful. Malicious. Distant, almost unknowable.

Yet as soon as she'd felt it, it was gone. She stretched out her mind, searching, but all she could feel was her family asleep in the other rooms of the apartment. Quistis' family was asleep in the next apartment over, and a couple students were roaming the corridors. Nobody else.

_Fithos. Lusec._

Had it been her imagination? The lights were all out in the apartment except for her small reading lamp. Had she just gotten a case of the creeps? Ever since they defeated Ultimecia she'd never gotten the creeps again. Through her powers she'd always known full well what was in the shadows, and it was either the nothingness that had been there when the lights had gone out, or it had been a monster watching her. Such was not uncommon when wandering outdoors at night, but she'd been easily able to detect its presence, its nature, and its intentions. Not that she had anything to fear from monsters anyway. This was something else…something that was either all in her head, or something that knew she'd felt it and instantly hid itself from her.

_Wecos. Vinosec._

No, that was impossible. Even if there was an unknown presence, she couldn't imagine how it could hide itself from her. Her senses were too sharp for that. She rubbed her eyes habitually. What she needed was a nice walk. Not one of the disembodied experiences she usually took when pretending to sleep, where she let her mind wander across Garden while her body went into hibernation. No, a good old-fashioned walk was just what she needed to clear her head. Maybe the Secret Area over the Training Center was open, and she could get some nice fresh air. Maybe she could even catch a glimpse of the reporters camped outside.

She gave a small grin. Maybe she could pull a prank or two on them without them seeing her, and scare them away. She'd heard on the news that Galbadia Garden had managed to take off the previous afternoon and leave the reporters behind. Maybe she could fly away herself and leave them behind if just for a little while. Her smile sustaining her momentary peace of mind, she walked to the door, slipped on a pair of walking shoes, and stepped through into the dimmed corridor beyond.

VVVVVVVVVV

The entity watched as Rinoa walked out of the apartment. Once it had realized Rinoa sensed it, it had moved to the back corner of the kitchen, bathing itself inside the aura of Rinoa's whelp, whose bed was just on the other side of the wall. The feel of it disgusted her even worse than Rinoa's existence did.

Despite its hate for such a waste of magical power, the entity found Rinoa to be a curious creature. She was perhaps the second most powerful being on the planet, with the ability to withstand practically anything, and yet she bothered with clothing. Why waste time putting on shoes when her "skin" was practically invulnerable? Why waste time with clothes if she could never become hot or cold? For that matter, why bother with a human form at all? Why not a giant beast, or a tiny moogle?

The entity knew the answer right away. The monstrosity wanted to live among humans, and to pretend that she was still one of them as opposed to the blending of the Sorceress's magical power and her own soul which had failed to pass on to the Afterlife. The entity didn't understand. Then again, it had been so long removed from humanity that all it understood was its needs and wants, not the paltry human conventions like morality and humility, both of which seemed so outdated and incompatible with the powers of beings like Sorceress Quistis, or the monstrosity Rinoa. Or even of the entity itself, although its power was as yet still limited.

The entity desperately wanted to get out from this hideous child's aura. It considered following Rinoa, continuing to observe her, even though it wasn't sure why. It already knew all it needed to know about that _thing_, and that wasn't much. Instead it decided to return from whence it had come, at least for now. If the entity had learned one thing over the vast length of time it had occupied this current form, it was that Rinoa was a far more difficult target than Quistis, and was much more likely to disrupt its plans.

As the entity vanished it remembered just how tightly bound the monstrosity was to the Sorceress. Once Quistis is broken, Rinoa will be nothing of consequence. As long as the entity kept as far away as possible, the black-haired one was nothing to worry about. For now.

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis looked over at the wall clock, her eyes having spent so long focusing on the pages before her that the time display was almost too blurry for her to read. It was still early in the morning local time, but it was probably late evening at the Cape of Good Hope. She hoped Matron would be available, because she needed to know something right away. The books just didn't say, and she was afraid she'd lose her mind if she didn't find out.

She sat in front of the vidphone and tapped Matron's icon on the screen. She made a concerted effort to keep her eyelids open and her eyes from crossing with exhaustion. When was the last time she slept? She pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes fiercely.

The videophone beeped several times before a face appeared on the screen. It was Edea, Quistis knew, but looking far older than she had ever remembered. Pronounced crow's feet framed her eyes, and her formerly long black hair had turned completely silver and was cropped short. _How much has she aged since we last spoke?_ Quistis thought. _It wasn't any more than a few weeks, was it?_

"_Quisty! How are you?"_ It was definitely Matron's voice, though Quistis noticed it had picked up a slight crackle. Or maybe it was just the connection. The wireless vidphones were still new technology and weren't the most reliable.

"I'm…" Quistis started, then sighed. She had a hard time opening her eyes after a blink. "I've been better."

"_You look like something's troubling you,"_ Edea said. _"Please, tell me."_

"What do you know about Adel?"

Edea blinked. _"Adel? I don't know…mostly what I heard on the news at the time, and some snippets in old Galbadian military intelligence reports."_

"I've been looking into Adel, and something's bothering me. Do you remember…did Adel….?" Quistis sighed. "You know how Adel basically ran Esthar's military from Esthar City, rarely appearing in public, right? And that she had her military capture Sorceresses so she could extract their powers using Odine's machinery?"

"_Yes…"_ Edea said, her voice drawn out in confusion.

"Did Adel…ever take to the front lines?"

"_Front lines? What do you mean?"_

"Did she ever…lead her armies into other countries and…did she…_murder _Sorceresses with her own hands?"

While the video connection was washed with static, Quistis could swear she saw a haunted look in Edea's eyes. _"N-no, not that I know of."_

Quistis leaned toward the screen. "Are you sure, Matron? I have to know."

"_Why?"_ Edea said. She seemed to be breathing more heavily than before. _"Is it…are memories of Adel coming forth?"_

Quistis took a deep breath, then nodded. "Yes. From my memories, the ones I inherited, they're like two different people who look the same, but feel different. Like…at one point she was bloodthirsty and enjoyed killing, and the other – well, I haven't really touched that one – but from what I read she only killed when necessary, not wholesale."

"_Adel was responsible for the First Sorceress War, in which thousands died. That's all you need to know."_ Edea's sudden intensity surprised Quistis.

"That's – that's not what I mean. This vision of Adel…she enjoyed the kill. Wanted more of it. I…felt like I _was_ her, for a few minutes."

"_Quisty, you have to fight those memories," _Edea said. Any appearance of fatigue brought on by her aged look was gone. _"Some of them can be so powerful – they can threaten to take you over. Have you spoken with Seifer about this?"_

"No," Quistis said. "He's dealing with too much else right now. He doesn't need to worry about this too. Especially because it's about Adel."

"_Quisty, he's your _Knight_. You _have_ to talk with him, because when it all comes down to it, he's the only one you can really confide in. Even more so than me."_

"I know," Quistis said. "We've just hit a rough patch, and – I just can't talk to him right now." Then, before Edea could interrupt, she continued, "There's something else. I had an…I guess, an episode the other day."

"_Episode?"_ Edea said.

"I – after that dream, with those memories, I went…well, manic, I guess, and ran around Garden, using my powers indiscriminately. I can't remember it very well, but…"

"_I'm coming to you."_

Quistis blinked at Edea's sudden declaration. "Matron, that's really not necessary. I can…"

"_You need my help, Quisty. You're far more important than you realize. Especially now."_

"But Garden's under lockdown! We have media from all over the world camped outside…"

"_Cid will make an exception for me. And I'm crafty enough to sidestep some reporters."_

Quistis opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. She really didn't want Edea coming to see her. She wished she'd never called in the first place. "Can you really leave the orphanage alone?"

"_I have some helpers here now. They can manage for a few days, at least."_

"I'm not talking you out of coming, am I?"

"_Not even if you said you were laying a trap for me."_

Quistis stared at her Matron for a long moment.

"_That was a joke, Quisty."_

Quistis nodded. "Oh, sorry. I'm just…really tired lately."

"_All the more reason for me to come to you as soon as possible. If you're having manic episodes, if you're not sleeping, then you need my help."_

Quistis sighed. Despite her misgivings, at least some of her was glad that Edea was so adamant about coming. "Thank you, Matron."

"_Anything for you, dear Quistis. I'll be there as soon as possible."_

"Goodbye, Matron."

Edea nodded. _"I'll be with you soon, Quisty."_

The screen went dark.

"Who was that, Quisty?"

Quistis turned around to see Aria standing behind her. "That was my – the woman who raised me. Her name's Edea Kramer."

Quistis thought she saw a flicker of fear shoot across Aria's face, but it was gone before she could register it. "Is she a nice lady?" Aria asked.

"The nicest I've ever known," Quistis said. "Really, she was the mother I never had."

Aria nodded. "I…can meet her?" She sounded more nervous than hopeful.

Quistis opened her mouth, then shut it again. "Maybe," she said. However, she wasn't sure it would be the right time for Aria to meet anyone just yet. Edea was already worried enough for Quistis that she was dropping everything and coming to Garden to be with her, despite the lockdown and the constant media blockade outside. For some reason, Quistis felt a twinge of fear every time the idea came up for her to tell anyone about Aria. Maybe she was just worried they'd think she was crazy, talking to an imaginary girl who claimed she was dead.

But hadn't she had that same fear when she was first talking with Rinoa in the Crossroad? Hadn't that turned out well? Ultimately she had created a new body for Rinoa. Couldn't she create a body for Aria too?

The sense of dread spread through her chest. Was she powerful enough to create and maintain a second magical being? Even Ultimecia had only created one, and she was far more adept than Quistis at using her power. She remembered how stressful creating one body had been, and the risk at which it had put Rinoa. Suppose she tried to create a body for Aria and ended up not only breaking Aria's ties to this world and sent her on to the Afterlife, but in the process destroyed Rinoa's body and did the same to her? She could live with sending Aria on, since it would be a much better place to spend eternity than the Crossroad, but Rinoa? She'd be_ killing _her best friend. Could she live with that? She clutched her arms around her chest and looked down. She noticed the Kushu design on Aria's nightshirt. It was glaring at her. It almost looked crazed, ready to strike at any moment…

"Quisty, are you okay?"

Quistis looked up at Aria's eyes and back down at Kushu. It was back to its playfully mischievous visage, except one eye was closed in a wink. She blinked and the image went back to normal, innocent and sneaky, with both eyes open. She looked in Aria's eyes again. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Just…thinking."

"Whatcha thinking 'bout?"

Quistis shrugged. "Just…stuff you don't need to worry about. Say, I have an idea." She leaned toward the little ghost. "I know you've been to the library here a couple times, but have you been around Garden otherwise?"

Aria shook her head. "Nope. I can't go too far away from you, or I disappear back to the empty place."

Qusitis stood. "Well, come on. I'm going to take you around and show you everything." Her thoughts fell on her whip for a half second, but she dismissed it. If she was going to be known as a Sorceress, then by God she was going to play the part once in a while. Even if it meant going into the Training Center without a weapon. Wasn't _she_ a weapon now, after all?

"Okay!" Aria said. They walked toward the door, and before Quistis could open it, Aria had passed through it. Quistis smiled, opened the door, and joined her little ghostly friend in the corridor.

VVVVVVVVVV

Rinoa strode through the Training Center, not in a particular hurry to get to the Secret Area. For some reason she felt tired, though there was no reason why. Maybe she was channelling Quistis' feelings. She hoped Quistis was finally sleeping; she knew her friend had gone without much of it lately, spending so much time working.

She felt someone up ahead. She kept walking, and as she rounded the corner she saw the familiar tall, muscular shape in a light gray trenchcoat taking on a group of thick-shelled Raldos. She was surprised he was up training this early in the morning.

She watched him finish off the last monster and walked up. "Seifer?"

Seifer whirled around, Hyperion blade at the ready, and lunged for her. Rinoa immediately stepped back and raised her hands. "Hey, put that away! It's me!"

Seifer blinked a few times, then lowered his blade. He kept it unsheathed, though. "Sorry, I just…" He shrugged. "Tired."

"You look it," Rinoa said, walking up to him. She observed the dirt and monster entrails that had splashed on his overcoat, and noticed that his hair was matted and oily, and stuck out in several directions. "Been sleeping much?"

Seifer shrugged again. "You?"

"I don't sleep, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Seifer said, finally sheathing his weapon at his waist. He crossed his arms. "What are you doing up and about?"

"Just going for a walk," Rinoa said. "What about you?"

"Same, I guess." He started toward the exit, Rinoa following at his side.

Rinoa smiled. "The Training Center is known for its scenic walks." When Seifer did not return the smile, she asked, "How are you handing things?"

"Things?"

"Everything. The news, the reporters, everything."

"I don't know."

Rinoa stepped close to him. She could just barely feel the man's magnetism, despite his taciturn attitude and unkempt appearance, that had once attracted her to him. "Seifer, what is it?"

Seifer started toward the exit, leaving her behind. "Nothing."

"This 'nothing' must be important enough for you to walk away from me like this."

Seifer stopped and turned to her. "Look, give me a break, will ya? Have I ever said how much I hate you and Quisty being in my head like that?"

Rinoa stared at him, dumbstruck, and she walked up to him. As she got close he continued walking away, so she followed close behind. He came to a halt again and spun around. "I mean…I didn't mean…oh for God's sake." He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Look, just tell me what you want and go away."

Rinoa stepped close, her face inches from his. "I've known you to be standoffish and rude, to be warm and nurturing, and to be brash and impulsive. I've never seen you sulk like this." She put a hand on his arm. He made a half-hearted attempt to shake it off, but gave up when she showed her persistence by keeping it there. "What's going on between you and Quisty?" she asked.

"You get that from my head?"

"No, just your behavior, and I'm not surprised. It's been a rough few weeks for all of us, but you two especially. I can't get in your mind, but from just looking at you I can tell something's wrong."

"Just because I haven't showered something's wrong? And you think I'm going to talk to you? Why don't you talk to Quistis? Maybe she'll talk to you. She'll barely say anything to me anymore. Too busy thinking about this 'Aria' person, I guess." He shook his head.

"Aria?" Rinoa said. That was a name she'd never heard before. She only knew it as a musical term.

Seifer rolled his eyes. He really didn't want to talk to anyone, including Rinoa. "Yeah, she keeps saying that name when she doesn't have her nose buried in books. Look, in case you didn't notice, me walking away means I really want to be alone."

Before Rinoa could protest Seifer broke away and strode briskly down the branch hallway. Rinoa stood watching for a few moments, and then gave chase. Seifer was walking so quickly he had reached the main corridor and was circling around toward the main directory before she caught up.

He stomped to a halt when he heard her footsteps clicking behind him. He stood facing away from her, and did nothing to acknowledge her when she reached him. Rinoa likewise stood there staring at him.

"What?" Seifer growled.

"I need you to talk to me because Quistis won't," Rinoa said. It was a bit of a lie; she just hadn't wanted to bother Quistis, given all that had happened recently.

"Right now you're the last person I want to talk to."

"Why?" Rinoa said. She stepped around him and faced his front.

"Because when it all comes right down to it, you're a part of Quistis. And right now I don't want to talk to her either." As soon as he said it he wished he hadn't, but it was too late now. He crossed his arms and stared at her expectantly.

Rinoa stared back, the sting of what he'd just said sinking in. The old Rinoa, the one who hadn't fit a lifetime of war and pain in the space of a few weeks, would have backed off. The new Rinoa would not surrender ground. "Well I guess you don't know as much about me or Quistis as you think you do."

"Good morning."

They both looked over to see Quistis descending the stairs from the central elevator. Rinoa's attention was drawn not directly to Quistis, but to the area behind her. There was nothing there, not that she could see, hear, or feel, but she had the suspicion that something other than Quistis was with her. However, she could see that Quistis was just as unkempt and just as sleep-deprived as Seifer.

"What are you doing up so early?" Quistis was looking at Seifer. Rinoa could see how red Quistis' eyes were, how stretched the skin seemed on her forehead and around her mouth. _Quistis hasn't been sleeping either._

"Who's watching the kids?" Seifer asked. His face had gone from irritation to slight worry, which to Rinoa meant "extreme worry".

"Why. Are. You. Up. So. Early?" Quistis asked, placing a staccato on each word. Her fists were at her hips now, and Rinoa could feel anger radiating off her, so intense it almost burned to stand near her. But why?

"I...snuck out the back door. Couldn't sleep." He stepped closer to Quistis. "Wait – is someone with the kids?"

Rinoa still felt that presence about Quistis, but even Quistis herself seemed – different, somehow. It wasn't just the anger, it was as if she were almost...becoming someone else. "I'll go..."

"You'll stay," Quistis said. "I want to know what you two were talking about."

"Nothing," Seifer said a little quickly.

"Were you talking about me?"

"I was asking about you," Rinoa cut in. There was no point in lying about it. "I've been worried about you. With all that's been going on, I can only imagine how hard it's been on you. I haven't seen you, so..."

The sentence hung in the air for a few seconds. Finally Quistis turned to Rinoa, some of the old humor returning to her face, though she felt little change in Quistis' demeanor. "Don't I look fine to you?"

Rinoa smiled. "The epitome of health."

The contentedness then melted from Quistis' face, her expression now matching the emotions Rioa sensed from her. "If you want to know how I am, come to me. Don't ambush my husband. And you," she turned to Seifer, "Don't you ever sneak out without telling me. Who's going to watch our children if you won't and I can't?"

Seifer's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Quistis hadn't spoken to him like this since she was his personal Drill Instructor, back when he first returned to Garden. He felt blood rush to his head. "Did you even bother to check with _me_ before you left the apartment? Doesn't sound like it, if you're just finding out now that I'm not there. Or, maybe you could have done your little scan thing and see if my mind was there. You like poking around in there, don't you?"

Quistis narrowed her eyes. "If you're presuming to tell me what to do, you can stop right there, mister. You're my Knight, which means I'm your Sorceress. Without me..." Quistis stopped herself, her eyes widening and visage softening, only for it to stretch back out in horror. She'd felt her anger boiling to the surface, and wasn't sure why. She was about to say something very hurtful, something she didn't mean, something that she realized almost too late couldn't be taken back.

"Without you _what_?" Seifer had a feeling he knew what she was about to say. He knew she was frustrated but quite frankly he had neither the energy nor the inclination to put up with a tantrum from a wife whose behavior, as of late, was starting to become quite erratic. "Without you I'm worthless, right?"

Quistis flushed. "I...wasn't going to say that." Actually, it was pretty close to what she was going to say before she stopped herself.

'Whatever. Well, listen. I've looked it up. I know I'm just some big dumbass, but I do know how to read. And Knight doesn't mean 'slave'. It means protector. I've got a little experience with that, you know." He stepped up close to her so she had to turn her head up to look in his face. "I'm not your slave, I'm not your Knight. I'm your husband. I'm the father of your children. Of _our_ children. And if you're going to treat me like this, I don't think I really want to be anything to you but the last one." He stormed past her and toward the elevator before she could respond.

Not that Quistis had any response. She had entered this conversation intending to cause pain to someone, and she didn't know why. But cause it she did, just not only for the intended target. She felt short of air and had to draw more in several large gulps. Her eyes were welling up. Her heart was playing bongos against her sternum. _Why did I say those things? Why did he say those things? He said those things because of the things you said, you idiot._ Quistis' mind felt so muddied that she couldn't be sure she had just thought all those statements to herself. But if she hadn't, who did?

She _really_ needed some sleep.

Rinoa had seen the whole exchange and wished she'd been anywhere else. She had been tempted to simply vanish, though it would have done little good since Quistis would have still been able to see her and it probably would have infuriated Seifer. And there was still the matter of the strange sensation she was still getting from Quistis. It felt a little like what she'd sensed earlier, before leaving the apartment. Was it Quistis, or was it something else? And whatever it was, could it be the cause of Quistis' strange behavior? She couldn't even place words to what she'd just seen and heard come out of the mouths of her two best friends. "Quisty, why...how...I've...never heard you say...anything like that." Quistis was staring off into space toward Garden's main gate, as if she didn't hear. Rinoa continued, "Quisty, what's wrong? Please tell me. Hearing you like that...you and Seifer, it breaks my heart."

"Your heart?" Quistis asked. It felt as if her mouth had taken on a mind of its own. "Interesting coming from you."

Rinoa came to a full standstill, no speech, no thought. The only thing she did was roll over those words in her head over and over. And then she started wondering again what was happening to Quistis that would make her say such hurtful things to her friends. She shook her head and opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Quistis looked at her, and Rinoa could see the pain in her eyes. She knew right away that Quistis didn't mean them, or that she didn't _want_ to mean them, but it still did not explain why she had sent them. Could it just be exhaustion? Rinoa doubted it. Too much had happened, between Lunatic Pandora and Quistis' episode the other day, to this. She could only imagine what Quistis had been doing, saying, or thinking in the time they had been apart.

"I...I didn't..." Quistis started, but her voice was squeaky, as if she were being throttled. She turned and ran away. Rinoa wanted to follow, but she didn't know if it was shock or some other force that held her in place as Quistis disappeared around the curve of the main corridor. She saw Quistis one more time as she ran into the doorway leading to the Quad.

She could finally move again, but instead of following Quistis she decided to go back home. Something was wrong with Quistis, but she couldn't do anything about it right now. Seifer, who had already gone up the elevator, was probably back at their apartment checking on Tracker and Jessa. If she knew Seifer at all, there was nothing he wanted less than to speak to her now.

She now had new things to worry over. What was going on in Quistis' head? Why were she and Seifer so hostile toward each other? And, who is this Aria?

VVVVVVVVVV

Quistis leaned on the railing, staring out toward Balamb. _Dear God, what's wrong with me?_ She clenched her hands into fists, her nails scraping against the stone. She looked down and saw that she'd actually torn gouges in the stone, and she felt the pebbles bite into her palm.

_What the hell am I?_

"Quisty, what's wrong?" Aria appeared out of the corner of her eye, sitting on the railing.

"I don't know what I am," Quistis said, her eyes focused on the scored concrete.

"But you're a woman," Aria said. "You're Quistis, and you saved me from being alone."

Quistis gave a quick sob, then swallowed it. Her head was swimming, and she couldn't think. She was so tired, so angry, so frightened, she couldn't be sure which one was the one she felt the most.

"Quisty, what's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?

Quistis' head jerked She felt the strong urge to lash out at Aria just as she had with Seifer and Rinoa, but she just couldn't. The words evaporated before her mouth could say them. Instead, she just shook her head.

"Quisty?"

"I – I can't," Quistis finally said. Her throat was so tight she felt like she could barely breathe. "I can't go on like this." She looked at Aria. Her eyes were drawn to the image of Kushu on the girl's shirt. The moogle was staring at her intensely. She shook her head again. _Hallucinations. I'm so messed up right now._

"Can I help?"

She looked up to the girl's face. Aria was giving her a sad smile. She felt compelled to smile back, though nothing she was feeling would back that up. "I don't know. I can't even help myself."

VVVVVVVVVV

"She said w_hat_?" Squall said. He hoped that he was still half-asleep and that he'd heard something different from what Rinoa had told him.

"You heard me right," Rinoa said. "God, I wish I'd heard it wrong."

"Well," Squall said, sighing as he pulled on his undershirt, "maybe it was just a fight. When friends fight, they can say really hurtful things."

"I'm not talking about her calling him a 'dumbass' and him calling her a 'bitch'. For a second there, it was like she was lording herself over him like...well, like it was Ultimecia all over again."

Hearing that brought Squall's dressing to a halt. "No. Quistis doesn't have that in her."

Rinoa shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"I've known her almost all my life. All that I can remember, at least. She's not like that." He examined the pins on his uniform jacket and made sure they were straight.

"Maybe she wasn't. But Sorceress powers can do funny things to you, Squall." She got up and helped him into his jacket, straightening the buttons for him. "They're not just powers, they're whole lives you're taking into your head. Every Sorceress in history has a piece of herself in there. Sometimes it's hard to sort yourself out from them, especially when you're under a lot of stress. That's one reason why you need a Knight, to help you keep yourself. That, and the power itself can be so intoxicating that it can just warp you, worse than alcohol or drugs can."

"But you never had that kind of breakdown," Squall said. "You never came close."

"I always had you," she said. "Maybe...is Seifer not strong enough to...?"

"He's strong enough," Squall said. He ran a hand through his mop of hair. "I never thought you of all people would doubt him. You were always the first to defend him, even after..." He stopped, but the meaning had already escaped.

"Even _after_," Rinoa said, nodding. "You're right, he is strong, but maybe...maybe Quistis is something – I mean someone – different. Maybe she's used her power too much, and Seifer just can't keep her grounded anymore." She lowered her head. "She's done things in the few years since she got her powers that no other Sorceress I know of has managed, except Ultimecia. And, well, I'm wondering if part of it's my fault."

"Don't even start thinking that," Squall said. He took her hands and held them to his chest. "Quistis is a good person. She will never be evil. She doesn't have it in her. She's just overwhelmed. The problem is that she's already on vacation, and she's still taken so much work on herself." He gave a chuckle. "Is there an intervention for workaholics?"

"Maybe," Rinoa said. Actually, that sounded like a good idea to her. "You know what, I'm going to see what I can do about that. Maybe get the old crew back together again."

Squall hesitated for a second. He hadn't intended that seriously, and now that Rinoa was, he started wondering if it was a good idea. He didn't want to humiliate Quistis. But, then again, wasn't that the point of an intervention, to humiliate someone and force them to face their demons? Hell, for all he knew Quistis was facing real demons and that was what was affecting her so badly. "Maybe," he said. "Anyway, I'd better get up there."

Rinoa scratched a fingernail in Squall's beard. "What good is a vacation if you're still at the Headmaster's beck and call?"

Squall shrugged. "He said it was important, or else he wouldn't have called. He's been pretty good about giving us our space these past few weeks."

"I suppose," Rinoa said. "I'll try to talk to Quistis again and see if I can get a feel for what's happening with her."

Squall nodded. "Cid's already considering putting her on administrative leave. Right now, the way she's been acting, I agree."

Rinoa tilted her head, the smile melting from her face. "You can't be serious."

"Garden's under near-total lockdown. Our students living off-site have a hard enough time as its getting back and forth, those whose parents haven't already pulled them. To be honest, right now Cid and I don't want her anywhere near students until she's evened herself out."

Rinoa sighed. She knew Squall was right, but she wished it weren't so. She felt like it was a betrayal, even if it were necessary for the safety of Garden, its students, and even Quistis herself.

"Anyway, I have to go." He gave Rinoa a kiss. "Hopefully it won't take too long."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

VVVVVVVVVV

Squall exited the elevator to the Administrative level. Returning to this office after a long time away was always a little strange. Strange, and relieving. It gave him a sense of a return to normality, which was something he liked. He'd spent so much of his life over the past several years in a near-constant state of excitement.

He caught the eye of Bowler Fisk, Cid's administrative assistant. Squall sometimes wondered if Bowler wasn't good enough at any other job to be transferred, or he was so good at this one that Cid couldn't bear to let him go. He'd never heard any protests from Fisk himself. "Go on in, Commander," Fisk said. "They're waiting for you."

"They?" he asked.

"I – can't say more sir, you just have to speak to the Headmaster."

He knew Fisk was usually given just enough information to do what he had to do, and questioning him further would be fruitless. He also knew Fisk didn't ask too many questions, an important trait for someone serving directly under the head of all SeeD. Maybe _that_ was why Fisk was still in this position.

Squall nodded and continued on through the double doors into the bridge, and then through the second set of doors into Cid's office. Once inside, he stopped dead in his tracks. Standing by Cid's conference table, speaking with the Headmaster, was none other than Fury Caraway.

Caraway and Cid immediately stopped talking and turned to Squall. Cid, for all his attempts at stateliness, showed a sudden rush of discomfort in his face. Caraway, on the other hand, clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Had his eyes been laser beams, his stare would have instantly bored a pair of holes through Squall's skull.

Squall never blamed Caraway for his hostility. The last time they had met was at Rinoa's funeral. Caraway had decked him with a single punch and had to be held back by his aides to keep him from beating the SeeD commander to a pulp. He was taking his grief out on the only one he could, justifying it by saying Squall had reneged on his promise to keep Rinoa safe. To date, was as much retribution as he'd sought.

That was before the media had begun speculating that Rinoa was alive, and spreading poof of such to every TV and computer screen across the world. Squall had expected a call from Caraway sooner or later, but for him to appear personally at Garden, and without his military guard, was highly irregular.

Squall nodded to him politely. "President Caraway."

"Leonhart," Caraway said, his voice low and ragged, as if he'd been speaking for days on end without rest. The man was still staring at him as if it were a contest to see which of them would back down first.

Despite his feelings for the man, for the first time since he'd known him Squall felt he could empathize with his father-in-law. How would he have felt if he'd thought Alexa dead for years and then suddenly seen her on the news, alive and well? Perhaps it was his fatherly instinct, but he suddenly wanted to tell Caraway that it was true, that Rinoa was alive, that through Quistis' perseverance and all their support, they'd brought her back from the dead. But of course that would be foolish, and probably fruitless. It would raise so many questions and suspicions that it could do nothing to help. He simply stood at ease, waiting for an explanation from either of his elders for this meeting.

Cid spoke up. "Squall, I know you and President Caraway are acquainted, and that you share some…animosity, but this situation is quite grave and requires your objectivity. Mr. President, please have a seat." He gestured to the seat to his left, and sat down at the head of the table. Caraway followed suit, still keeping his eyes glued to Squall.

Squall walked gingerly toward Cid and sat in his normal seat to the headmaster's right. When he glanced at Caraway again, the man had turned away toward the giant bay windows. They offered an unobstructed view of the ocean vista outside, peaceful even though rain clouds were obscuring the sun. Caraway's distraction relieved Squall, who had a fleeting vision of the president holding a gun, pointed at him, underneath the table in his hidden hand.

"Okay," Cid said, a little breathy. To Squall it sounded as if he were intensely stressed. "Mr. President, if you..."

"No," Caraway said. "First I need to ask Commander Leonhart."

"Mr..." Cid tried to interrupt.

"Leonhart. Squall," Caraway said, his tone much calmer, almost bordering on exhaustion. "I watch the news almost religiously."

_Here it comes_, thought Squall.

"Is it true? Is she alive?"

Squall looked into the man's eyes and saw something that felt very familiar. It was a father's love, pleading for his child. It was something Squall knew he could very well experience himself, were he in the same situation. The time had passed for subterfuge and lies. This man deserved the truth, for once. At least, enough of it to satisfy his question. "Yes, Rinoa's alive."

Caraway blinked a few times. Squall wondered for a fleeting second if those were tears he was blinking away. "May I see her?"

That was the question. Rinoa had mentioned their "meeting" at the Lunatic Pandora ceremony. She hadn't been too happy to see him, particularly since she'd almost sat on her while she was invisible. "That's up to her," he said.

Caraway nodded. "I figured. Can you please call her? I really need to see my daughter."

"Mr. President," Cid said. "With all due respect sir, that's not our main order of business..."

"My daughter is my main order of business. She should have always been. I let her slip away from me because I set everything else before her. If this is the last chance I'm going to have to try to set things right, then I want to see her one more time."

Caraway was staring at Squall again, but no longer with the same intensity. It looked almost pleading. "I'll call her," Squall said. He stood. "I'll be back in a moment, sir." He nodded to Cid, who nodded back.

Squall stepped out of the office and leaned against the bridge pedestal. This was not going to be easy. He called out, _Rin, do you have a sec?_

_Sure_, Rinoa replied in their mind-link. _What's up?_

_Can you come up here please? It's important._

_I know, I can tell. What is it?_

_Your father's here._

There was a pause. He hadn't expected an immediate answer.

_What did you tell him?_

_What _could_ I tell him? He saw you on the news. He practically begged me to tell him whether or not you were alive, so I told him you were._

Another pause. _Well, now he knows._

_He wants to see you._

_What?_

_He's here for some kind of business, but he refuses to discuss it until he sees you._

_So he's holding business over Cid's head so he can browbeat you into letting him see me?_

_I don't think that's it,_ Squall said. _I think he genuinely wants to see you. Patch things up with you._

_You don't know him, Squall._

_Maybe not,_ Squall said, _but I know that look in his eyes when he asked if he could see you. I really think, if I were in his situation and it were about Lexie, I'd feel the same way he does._

Another pause. For a moment Squall wondered if Rinoa had dropped the link. Then, finally, she said, _I have to see him, don't I._

_I think you should,_ Squall said. _Give him another chance._

_I'll regret it later if I don't right?_ Rinoa asked sardonically.

_Maybe,_ Squall said. _At least clear the air, so you don't have this wall between you._

He heard her sigh over the link, which he knew from experience was purely theatrical. _Fine, I'm coming up._

VVVVVVVVVV

Rinoa exited the elevator. If she'd still had a stomach it would have been filled with butterflies. Caraway, here. She couldn't decide if this was some sort of possessiveness on her father's part, or a power play to somehow show Cid that he could make them follow his orders. Knowing her father's_ modus operandi_ when it came to negotiations, neither would surprise her.

Squall was standing at Bowler Fisk's desk. He walked up to her and looked into her eyes. She looked back into his, those questioning gray eyes. Neither a word nor a thought passed between them, but they both knew. Rinoa nodded, and then Squall did. He took her hand and together they walked toward the door to the bridge.

Squall entered the office first, meeting Caraway's gaze. He gave a nod, turned to his right, and stepped aside as Rinoa came in, her hand still firmly grasped in his. Caraway shot to his feet, staring at her. She could feel him examining her up and down; she wondered if he simply drinking in the image of his resurrected daughter, or if he was trying to determine the veracity of her identity.

"R…Rinoa…?" Caraway asked. His voice was quiet, almost breathy.

Rinoa nodded. She knew she should feel something, but a strange nothingness filled her. It was as if she was trying to instinctively protect herself from a pain she knew was coming.

"Is…it really you?"

"Yes," Rinoa said. "It's me."

Caraway approached her, and Rinoa fought the urge to shrink back. Old feelings returned to her, memories of being a little girl, with the stern, powerful man and gentle, nurturing woman taking care of her as best they could, all of them together. If she'd had tear ducts, her eyes would have begun watering just at the memories.

Caraway stopped a few feet from her. He again examined her head to toe, and then turned to Squall. "I need a few minutes alone with…her, if you please." He turned to Cid. "Please."

Squall looked to Rinoa, who looked from Caraway to him, and then back to Caraway. "It's okay, Squall. Headmaster." Squall turned to Cid, who nodded. Squall let Rinoa's hand slip from his own and he turned and left the office, Cid following closely behind.

Once the door closed behind her and Rinoa knew she was alone with Caraway, she didn't know what to expect. Would he fall to his knees and weep? Would he scream at her for deceiving him? Would he slap her? A maelstrom of possibilities swirled about her mind while the silence loomed between them.

After a minute or so of their apparent staring contest, Caraway said, "What was the last thing your mother said to us before she died?"

Rinoa was so utterly shocked that she reeled backward, leaning against the door behind her. "What? You can't be serious!"

"Please, you have no idea how many young women have come to me, claiming to be my daughter reborn, or having had plastic surgery so they could live anonymously. Some of them couldn't even say my granddaughter's name, for God's sake. Please, I have to be sure."

Rinoa stared at him, a loss for words. She felt a sudden, despicable urge to lie to him. To say something generically mushy like, "Remember I'll always watch over you," or "I love you," or some other storybook line, just so he'd think she was lying and she could be done with him. Damn the consequences. That part of her, a part that still resented him for emotionally abandoning her so long ago, wanted him back out of her life.

And yet, what would be the purpose of that? To maintain the status quo? To keep him out of her life just because that was what she was used to? When he'd approached Alexa at Lunatic Pandora, she'd stopped her daughter from saying things that could have alienated him. But the question remained, what did he really want?

They continued staring into each other's eyes until Caraway, letting loose a sigh, turned and headed for a chair.

"_Ride the Buggy_," Rinoa said.

"What?" Caraway said, stopping his grim march and turning back toward her.

"The game we were playing. The board game you and Mom had bought me for my birthday. You and I were playing it…though I think we were just pretending to follow the rules while we scooted our little token things around the board." Rinoa remained leaning against the door, but could see color begin to flood Caraway's cheeks. She continued, "It was the…last time we ever played that game, or any, I think. Mom came into the room and said, 'Aren't you coming to the store with me?' I said something like, 'But I want to ride the buggy!' I…I think you said…'She can't resist the buggy'…or something like that. You used a word I didn't understand, but I think that's about what you meant.

"She…crossed her arms or tapped her foot or something, and said, 'Fine, but don't complain if you don't like the food I pick out,' and walked out the door. You…y-you said…" her lower lip was trembling, and she had difficulty choking her words out. She had watched Caraway through her whole narration, and the longer it had gone on, the more grief, the more joy she had seen wash over his face. "Nothing…but the…" she laughed a little through her own tears, "Nothing but the best liver for our little girl."

She could say nothing more. She didn't have to. Caraway was upon her, his arms wrapped around her. After a few seconds of shock she wrapped hers around him. His face pressed tightly against her head, she could both feel and hear him weep. The one and only time she'd ever seen him cry was at her mother's funeral, before he'd shut himself off completely from his emotions, and from her. She now realized how much he'd held in all those years, felt it come out in a stream of tears into her hair, and realized at that moment why she'd been so attracted to Squall back when he had seemed a cold-hearted military man. She'd recognized the same in him that she'd seen in her father: a military man with a cool, calm exterior but brimming with repressed emotion underneath. She realized at that moment just how much she'd loved her father, how she'd always loved him, no matter how angry she'd become with him, despite the fact that she'd abandoned the Caraway family name in favor of her mother's maiden name, because of her anger with him. She'd never stopped loving her father.

The realization was what brought out all her grief, all her pain, in her free-flowing tears that evaporated almost instantly upon contact with the air. She realized just how much she'd loved her father, and how much he'd loved her, despite their differences, despite what she had assumed to be their mutual resentment of each other. She'd put him through so much pain, making him believe she was dead even long after she'd returned to life. She had never put much thought into ever contacting her father again, but now that she had, she wished she'd done it so long ago.

"Rin…my Rin…Thank you God…my little girl…I missed you so much…"

"Car…D-daddy," Rinoa said, realizing for the first time that she had grown so accustomed to referring to her father by his last name, with no title or honorific, and had not once called him "Daddy" in at least 20 years.

"I'm so sorry, Rin," Caraway said, his voice strained with grief. "I…I should have been there for you, always. I was so angry, so hurt…when we lost your mother, I just…couldn't deal with it. You reminded me so much of her, I just…I just couldn't…I had to get away…I'm so, so sorry…"

"Daddy," Rinoa said, a little more sure this time. "We…we both screwed up. Mom…wouldn't have wanted us to be like we were. I…think she'd want us to be like we are right now."

"Your mother was always so smart…so wise…I wish I'd listened to her more often…When I lost you…I realized how much I'd given up, how much I'd hurt you, and I couldn't stand it. But you…you came back."

Rinoa nodded against his chest. "It was…a miracle," she said, not untruthfully at all. "It was a miracle that brought me back. I just wish…I wish I'd told you sooner." It was the truth. "I'm so sorry…I'm the worst daughter in the world…"

"No," Caraway said, pulling away and looking her square in the eye. He used his thumbs to swipe away some of her tears. "Never, ever say that. I…I was a bad father. If I hadn't shut you out…"

"Please, don't," Rinoa said. "Mom wouldn't want us blaming ourselves either. We should…just forget everything that we did, everything we thought we felt, and move on from here. We're father and daughter now. I got a second chance to be with my family when I came back. I want a second chance with you too."

"I want that too," Caraway said, pulling away from her. He took her hand and led her to the chairs at the conference table. He sat down, and Rinoa sat down in front of him. He took both her hands in his. "Please, I want to know. Please tell me everything. How you're here, how you've been. What you've done, how your family is. Please."

Rinoa raised her eyebrows. "There's a lot you won't believe."

"Given everything I've seen over the past several years, from Sorceresses to Time Compression to Lunatic Pandora, I'm keeping an open mind."

Rinoa nodded. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.

She told him everything. That she was the Sorceress, that she'd died and passed her powers on to Quistis (Caraway nodded understandingly at that part), and that Quistis had used her power to rescue Rinoa's soul from limbo and also given her a second chance at life. She held nothing back, and Caraway reacted little more than the occasional nod. The entire time he paid rapt attention to her, and she never once saw skepticism flicker across his face.

"So, that brings us to now," Rinoa said, "and why we have the media camped outside every Garden."

Caraway nodded. "All you've been through, all the pain, and it never turned you into a cynic like it did me." He shook his head. "I should have known you would be the stronger one, just like your mother."

Rinoa smiled and her gaze dropped to her lap. Caraway tucked fingers under her chin and lifted her head. "It really is a miracle. You're alive, so mature, but you don't look a day older than you did when I saw you at your wedding."

She felt a slight pang at that one. Her meeting with him at their wedding had been adversarial at best, with Squall of all people being the voice of moderation during the short exchange. "I'll never age, as far as I know," she said.

"And it's all thanks to Quistis Almasy," Caraway said. Rinoa nodded. "Can I see her?" he asked. "I want to thank her personally."

Rinoa bit her lip. "Quistis...hasn't been feeling well lately. The thing with the news has hit her pretty hard and – well, she's trying just to be alone with her family right now."

Caraway nodded. "I understand. Still, please pass along my heartfelt thanks."

Rinoa fought the urge to scowl. Caraway was starting to slip back into his politician persona. "I will." She squeezed his hands. "You've got business to discuss with the Headmaster and Squall now, don't you?"

Caraway nodded slowly. "Yes. But first I wanted to see you, if just one more time." To Rinoa's confused look he said, "I just want you to know that, whatever happens, your father loves you very much and is so happy he had this one chance to see you again."

Rinoa sighed and nodded. She wasn't sure what he meant about the "one more time" portion of that, but decided to leave it alone. "I'll go get them."

Caraway nodded. "Thank you." As she walked out of the room she knew he was watching her, and though she knew the feeling should have given her the creeps she actually felt comfortable with it. Despite the awkwardness of their meeting, she actually felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

_Let the media say what it wants. I've got a father again._

VVVVVVVVVV

Cid and Squall were on the opposite side of the bridge. Cid was speaking to him in hushed tones, and Squall was listening with his arms crossed and his head down to the side.

"Um, we're done," Rinoa said. They both looked at her. She could see the concern etched into Squall's face. _What is it?_ she asked through their mind-link.

_We'll talk about it later,_ Squall said.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow. Cid said, "How did it go?"

Rinoa gave a small smile. "Better than I expected. I think things will be better between him and me than they have been in a while."

Cid gave a confident smile. "Good." He gestured to Squall. "We have to meet with him now. It may be a long meeting."

Rinoa frowned. "I see."

"It'll be okay," Squall said.

"I believe you," Rinoa said. She headed out the double doors without another word, leaving Cid and Squall to return to the office.

Once inside they found Caraway standing at the windows, watching the sun peek through the occasional break in the clouds. "Mr. President," Cid said, "I've already explained everything to Commander Leonhart."

"Good," Caraway said, absently.

"We need to have preliminary discussions now, but for an operation of this magnitude we'll have to bring in leaders from every Garden. Given the possible worldwide repercussions, we need to make sure everyone is on the same page before any action is taken."

"Very well," Caraway said, not looking away from he ocean. "How soon?"

"We can get everyone here tonight, though it's unlikely we'll be able to do so this quickly without raising questions somewhere. Word will probably reach the media quickly."

Caraway gave a theatrical chuckle. "Since when did the great SeeD care about the media and public opinion?"

"We don't," Squall said, "but it may raise questions that will cause your enemies to force their hand."

"Or they'll assume it's a meeting to discuss what to do about the media," Cid said, stroking his chin. "I'll have Bowled spread a rumor to that effect. I'd bet that we'll see it on the noon news." He gave a smile. "Everyone else manipulates the media. Maybe it's time we did it for a change."

"There's one more thing," Squall said. "This won't be a simple operation, as I'm sure you're aware."

"I do have some military experience, Commander," Caraway said.

"This will be a very risky mission," Squall said, ignoring the sarcasm. "Even before we've got our plan together I can tell you our costs will be high. Equipment, manpower, and that doesn't even take into account the risk of casualties."

"And here I thought you were the best in the world," Caraway said.

"We are," Squall said. "That comes at a price, sir. While we appreciate your warning to Galbadia Garden, so they could leave before they were overrun, we can't do this kind of mission on credit, sir. Especially now." Squall suddenly realized that this was the first time he had ever negotiated pay for SeeD's services. He glanced over to Cid, who nodded approvingly.

"You don't need to worry about that," Caraway said. He tore a slip of paper from the pad on Cid's desk and wrote a series of numbers on it. He held it out to Squall. "Call the Federal Bank of Esthar. I will transfer the entire contents of this account as a down payment for your services, with the rest payable once I've returned to Monterosa City. I'm sure you'll find it adequate."

Squall reached for the paper, but Cid took it before he had a chance. "Thank you, Mr. President," Cid said. "We'll work these details out shortly. In the meantime, we should begin planning immediately. After all, what you're asking us for basically boils down to a full-scale invasion of your own capital city."

Caraway nodded slowly, his face blank. "I know."


	11. Epitaph: How It Would Have Ended

Final Update: How It Would Have Ended (the Epitaph)

**Author's Note:  It is finally time for me to admit defeat, and declare _Love Beyond Death Part II_ dead. I haven't updated it in over two years, and have made no progress on the story. The story's fans have moved on (and I can't blame them), so it's time I moved on as well. However, so as not to leave the story completely hanging, I will summarize the remaining plot as I had planned to write it:**

When we last left our heroes, they were at the calm before the storm. Rinoa met her father for the first time since before she'd died, and the two finally came to terms. Quistis was bonding with the mysterious little girl spirit named "Aria", but at the same time her increasingly erratic behavior has been pushing Seifer away.

All the while, a dark entity has been watching Quistis and Rinoa. Watching, and waiting.

Caraway's visit to Garden was far from social; he was ousted from his position by a military coup, led by his former subordinates who wanted to see a return to a Deling style of government. Their goal was to make Galbadia once again the nation feared by the world, and "without the influence of the Sorceress" (or her father). Headmasters and SeeD commanders from all Gardens meet for a "war council", agreeing to accept Caraway's contract but with trepidation. They could not guarantee that civilians would not fight the SeeD invasion, and whether or not they supported the coup.

As this meeting was occurring, Quistis continued to have more visions of Adel on the battlefield, and continued experiencing the dead Sorceress's bloodlust. The more she tried to speak to Seifer, though, the more she found herself saying things that further hurt him and drove him away further. Aria became the only one in whom Quistis could confide, to Aria's apparent satisfaction. At the same time, Aria continued showering praise upon Quistis, feeding her ego.

Over the next few days news begins to trickle in about the unrest in Galbadia, and Squall finally calls a meeting of his senior SeeDs for rumor control. He reveals the coup, and orders them to quietly prepare. While most of the seasoned SeeDs are ordered to prepare for battle or infiltration, Quistis is ordered to take command of the student and non-combatant evacuation to Balamb, and remain there during the invasion. Quistis becomes furious, as she believes she and Rinoa together have proven themselves to be the most powerful fighters in existence, but Squall points out that their very presence there, as Sorceress and Guardian Force, would likely only incite further insurgency against SeeD.

Quistis leaves in disgust. Rinoa goes after her but she's vanished.

As planned, all children and non-SeeDs are evacuated from Garden. Lexie, wanting to fight rather than flee, disguises herself in a SeeD uniform, bumbling together Confuse and Barrier spells to create a muddling aura around herself, keeping herself just outside others' notice. She takes a weapon and joins a SeeD team, just barely managing to avoid her father's attention as her team is deployed.

The attack begins. The four Gardens (Balamb, Trabia, Galbadia, and Esthar) surround Monterosa and the invasion commences. In the meantime, Quistis, who has hidden away in a dark corner of B-Garden, is sulking bitterly. Aria appears to her once again. Quistis is despondent, and Aria asks to be invited inside her mind, to help share the pain. Not quite thinking straight, Quistis eventually acquiesces, but as soon as Aria is inside she takes over. Shocked, Quistis tries to fight, but is easily countered by the extremely powerful Aria.

Aria reveals that she is, in fact, Adel. Not Adel as Quistis knew, the one she and Squall helped defeat at Sorceress' Memorial. She was the _original_ Adel (her chosen _nom de guerre_), who first rose to power in Esthar and began their march across the world, seeking out and slaughtering Sorceresses in order to take their power. Adel's sister, Samantha, was a non-Sorceress who had stood by her, helping her and trying her best to convince her to stop (basically making Samantha her Knight). Eventually Aria was mortally wounded in a suicide attack against her forces' front line. Samantha rushed in, cradling her sister's dying body, and Aria transferred her powers into Samantha. Samantha fled the battle, eventually deciding to take on the name Adel and to end Esthar's war machine before it was too late. However, she clung to Aria's spirit, keeping her in the Crossroad and remaining her only link to the living world (much as Quistis did with Rinoa in Part I).

Aria, long since driven mad by her power and now by her loss of it, poisoned Samantha's mind and convinced her to continue waging war, though what was left of Samantha chose to remain far from the front lines, locked away in Esthar City almost constantly. In her seclusion and under Aria's continued mental onslaughts her mind decays further, causing her body to gradually grow into a grotesque form barely resembling who she once was. Thus she became the Adel that history remembered. Only her "defeat" at Laguna Loire's hand stopped Aria from ultimately taking over her mind.

When SeeD finally killed the insane Samantha years later, it left Aria stranded in the Crossroad. Aria tried to make contact with other Sorceresses (namely Edea and Rinoa), but Quistis, caught in the Crossroad after the battle with the Omega Weapon, was the first one who was vulnerable enough for her to latch onto. In the time hence, she had chipped away at Quistis's sanity as she had her own sister's. The shock of these revelations is enough to push Quistis's mind over the brink, and allow Aria to once again become the world's most powerful Sorceress.

Rinoa, leading the guard at B-Garden's main gate (against any potential counter-attack), is struck internally with a powerful force when this happens. She screams out to Squall's mind before collapsing. Squall, leading one of the charges against Galbadian troops in Monterosa City, calls out to her but receives no reply. He breaks off the fight and pulls his team back to their transport.

Upon returning to B-Garden he finds Rinoa unconscious, but is able to revive her. She explains that something has happened to Quistis, but isn't sure what. Garden then immediately takes off,crashing into the ground twice and causing them all to tumble out as the academy finally flies away at top speed.

Squall calls the other Gardens and orders an immediate pursuit, effectively abandoning their contract with Caraway. At the same moment Seifer receives these orders he hears Quistis in his head, begging for his help. She says she's trapped onboard Garden and needs his help. He sends his team to the nearest transport and hijacks a downed Galbadian paratrooper's helicopter pack. He follows after B-Garden, Quistis guiding him.

Trabia Garden picks up Squall, Rinoa, and their teams, and gives chase. The heavily-fortified T-Garden, though, is slower than B-Garden which prolongs the chase.

Seifer, meanwhile, is somehow carried to B-Garden on a jetstream wind, having to abandon the helicopter pack as it runs out of fuel and crashes into the Quad. He runs inside, following Quistis's voice in his head. He eventually reaches her in the Training Area, where he sees how Aria's control has changed her (tattoos growing across her face and down her arms, and gold-and-white hair longer than she is tall, flying out in all directions). Aria begs him, in Quistis's voice, to protect her, that the others wouldn't understand and would try to kill her. Seifer is appalled and refuses, so Aria lashes out at him both mentally and physically. Under her vast power he finally succumbs, vowing to defend her no matter what.

Aria, controlling B-Garden through her powers, slows it down over the open ocean and waits for the other Gardens to catch up. G-Garden and E-Garden reach it first, but their occupants are blocked from entering. T-Garden finally arrives, and Rinoa is able to use hew own connection to Quistis to break the seal, allowing the fighters to enter.

As soon as they enter B-Garden, Quistis announces over the PA that she knows they've boarded and are coming for her. She says she's "transcended", and anyone who stands against her will die.

At this Rinoa begins feeling ill, but she is able to sense Quistis's presence. She leads them toward the Training Area, and in the corridor they meet Seifer. He is battered and bloodied from Aria's attacks, but stands guard in the hall, his gunblade drawn against the SeeDs, swearing he will defend his wife. Squall orders him to stand down, but Seifer responds with an Ultima spell. Rinoa is able to protect the SeeDs, but at severe cost to her remaining strength. Taking advantage of this, Seifer attacks her, but Squall counterattacks and disarms him. Enraged, Seifer attacks Squall with magic and his bare hands, but Rinoa throws up another barrier to keep them apart. She insists that they will do everything they can to help Quistis, but must stop her before she hurts anyone else, including their children. This seems to snap Seifer out of his trance, but he refuses to help them fight her.

They continue on to the Training Center, where Quistis lies in wait. She sends waves of monsters after them to toy with them, but ultimately allows them through. She then paralyzes Rinoa, using Rinoa's status as her Guardian Force to force her into a junction similar to the one they performed during the battle at Lunatic Pandora. It is an imperfect junction, though, because Rinoa is fighting it with all her power. The resulting creature is an amalgamation of Rinoa, Quistis, and a thick, muscular woman with black eyes, and its power easily overcomes the SeeDs. As more pour in to help, more are struck down.

Finally, one SeeD enters and cries out to the combined being. The creature recognizes her as Lexie and tries to attack, but is held back by part of itself. It isn't enough, though, and beams of searing light strike near Lexie. She stands her ground, and from behind her comes another, smaller form: Jessa, Quistis and Seifer's daughter.

The creature tries to attack again, but is torn apart from the inside. In a flash of light it splits into three. Two parts fall to the ground and form into Rinoa and Quistis. The third remains standing, but just barely. She is Aria as she was when she died, tall and thin, covered in tattoos, and with pitch-black eyes. She collapses to her knees, clawed fingers reaching out for Quistis, but is interrupted by another flash of light.

The light fades to reveal a woman cloaked in white, but her skin scarred and one arm covered in thorned vines. She kneels down beside Aria and touches her cheek, calling her "sister" and expressing sorrow for her. The woman says that she paid a heavy price for her sins, but that Aria's punishment will be far more intense, and this time she cannot spare her sister from that ultimate fate.

Red smoke rises from Aria as she melts into the ground, screaming all the time. The woman in white then turns to the SeeDs and introduces herself as Samantha, though they once met her when she went by the name Adel. She explains to them all that Aria was the first Adel, and while she had tried to act as her sister's Knight she failed, and Aria fell into madness and bloodlust. She makes no excuses for her own actions after accepting Aria's powers, promising that she has been justly punished for what she did. As she departs she begs them not to hate Aria, but to pity her, because she was failed by herself just as much as by her sister.

Days later, B-Garden is recovering. Those not injured in the fight against the Sorceress were sent back to Galbadia to fulfill their contract with Caraway, but at a far greater loss of life due to their earlier pull-out. Relations with the newly-reinstated President Caraway are strained at best due to this, but Squall and Cid are much less concerned about that than their main problem: Sorceress Quistis, who has almost completely withdrawn into herself. Garden can no longer keep her, or risk losing almost all their recruits and future contracts.

They would not consider ejecting Quistis from Garden but she saves them the trouble; in her first conversation with them since her defeat, she announces she is taking up Edea's offer to live at the orphanage on the Cape of Good Hope. The orphanage, and taking care of the children, helped Edea calm the urges her powers brought about within her, and Quistis hopes it will do the same for her. Seifer chooses to go with her, insisting as her Knight, husband, and the father of her children, he will never abandon her even after having failed to protect her once. The story ends with G-Garden leaving the Almasys behind at the orphanage, heading into an uncertain future where friends and allies may no longer be, and family is the only certainty to be had.

**Afterward: **** I'm aware there are quite a few plot threads hanging, such as Edea somehow not making it to Garden in time to help Quistis, and how Jessa was in G-Garden during the climax. Had the story concluded, I'm sure I would have come up with something satisfying enough to tie them all together. Anyway, if anyone is still interested in the story, I hope this helps bring some closure (as it has with me). Thanks to you all for reading, and once again I'm truly sorry I couldn't finish what I started.  
**


End file.
